The market is in a wait and see mode as investors look to the NFP report for direction. Last month’s announcement of QE3 means that if the numbers disappoint, the likelihood of additional stimulus is essentially zero. Expectations are for 110k jobs and a downtick of the unemployment rate to 8.1%.
Market watchers are still trying to determine the outcomes of the election and their effects on the market. Romney seems more inclined to tackle the deficit which would harm the market in the short term. He has also pledged to replace Fed chief Ben Bernanke after his term is up. Granted this is all said in the heat of the campaign, and seeing as Romney’s biggest contributors are investment houses, it is probably doubtful anything major would happen.
In commodities, oil prices are dropping this morning with Nymex futures down 91 cents to $90.80 per barrel. Gold is also off a bit as it trades near the $1800 per ounce level.
Internationally most markets were up in the overnight hours. Japan took a brief dip after the BOJ refrained from announcing further monetary easing action. Japan ended their session higher though as investors shook that piece of news off.
Stocks to Watch
Zynga, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is down 20% in pre market trading at $2.26. ZNGA has traded 1.9 million shares already this morning and trades 17.5 million shares a day on average. ZNGA shares are plunging in early trading after the game maker cut its full year outlook late yesterday. The company also said the current quarter is “challenging” due to weaker than expected performance from some of its games. The company has a market cap of 2.14 billion.
Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is down 2.63% in pre market trading at $21.37. FB has traded 315 thousand shares so far today and trades 44.1 million shares a day on average. FB shares are falling this morning after Zynga’s earnings announcement. JP Morgan also lowered their earnings estimates for Facebook due to Zynga’s poor earnings. The company has a market cap of 47.02 billion.
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTIC) is down 30.88% this morning at $1.41. CTIC has traded 384 thousand shares in pre market and trades 1.3 million shares a day on average. CTIC shares are falling after the company announced it has priced $60 million of convertible preferred stock at $1.40 a share. The company has a market cap of 86.77 million.
Vringo, Inc. (NYSE:VRNG) is down 2.86% in pre market trading at $5.10. VRNG has traded 66 thousand shares so far today and averages 4.3 million shares a day. VRNG shares have shot up in the past two days thanks to a court ruling in its favor. A judge has ordered Vringo and Google into settlement talks over their patent dispute. The company has a market acp of 176.76 million.
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) is down 1.07% this morning at $14.78. HPQ has traded 21 thousand shares in pre market and trades 24.6 million shares a day on average. HPQ shares were downgraded to hold from buy at Argus this morning. The company has a market cap of 29.37 billion.
Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) reported a big drop in China auto sales with a 40% drop in September. Analysts are pointing to the current territorial disputes between the Japan and China as the reason for the big drop. The company has a market cap of 125.06 billion.
About Danny Fisher
