Futures are soft this morning as investors eye the fomc minutes of the latest Fed meeting. They are searching for comments that would give the recent rally a firmer foundation. The minutes are scheduled for release at 2pm EST. Dow futures are currently down 23 points to 13,166. Nasdaq futures are flat, while S&P 500 futures are down just over 2 points to 1,410.
Other economic data to watch for for are car sales numbers and factory orders. Release times for those are 9am and 10am respectively. Chrysler has already reported that US sales are up 34% for their best tally in four years.
Internationally, Europe is is becoming a growing concern again. This time the focus is on Spain and their austerity measures. The concern is that their austerity will hamper growth, which in turn will limit its ability to pay back debt. This is based off the facts that austerity has been proven time and again not to work over in Europe. Only a matter of time at this point before the bailout talk regarding Spain begins in earnest.
Asia was a mixed bag overnight as Hong Kong rallied on US manufacturing news, while Japan slipped on the back of a stronger Yen.
Commodities are slipping slightly this morning as they too look for a direction. Nymex crude futures are off 73 cents to 104.50. Gold prices are following oil lower, down $5 per ounce to $1,675.
Stocks to watch today include CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI), Vringo, Inc. (AMEX:VRNG), Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN), Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI), Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP), Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:THLD) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX).
CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) is up 5.70% in pre market trading at $28.75. CVI has traded 13 thousand shares in this morning and trades just over 2 million shares on average. CVI shares are rallying in pre market on news that Carl Icahn is set to buy CVR Energy with shareholder support. The company has a market cap of 2.36 billion.
Vringo, Inc. (AMEX:VRNG) is up 6.45% in pre market trading at $3.27. VRNG shares have jumped nearly 100% this week as investors pour into this stock following a TechCrunch article about the company’s lawsuit against Google. VRNG has traded 64 thousand shares so far this morning and trades 1.1 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 42.97 million.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) is up 3.59% in pre market trading at $30.60. URBN shares are up this morning after receiving an upgrade to neutral from sell at Citigroup. The company has a market cap of 4.27 billion.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:HGSI) is up 2.60% in pre market trading at $8.30. HGSI sees 7.8 million shares in volume traded every day on average. HGSI shares are up right now on news that the company is entitled to fees and milestone payments that could be as much as $173 million from GlaxoSmithKline’s phase 3 trial for Albiglutide. The company has a market cap of 1.61 billion.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE:AVP) is up 0.62% in pre market trading at $22.84. AVP has traded 6 thousand shares this morning and trades 6.5 million shares a day on average. AVP shares are trading higher again this morning after the company rejected a $10 billion offer from Coty Inc. yesterday. The company has a market cap of 9.78 billion.
Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:THLD) is down 3.50% in pre market trading at $8. THLD trades 3.4 million shares a day on average. THLD shares have jumped as much as $1 a share in the past week. The company has a market cap of 427.20 million.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is down 2.87% in pre market trading at $110.70. THLD has traded 26 thousand shares this morning and trades 8.3 million shares a day on average. Netflix shares were cut to equal weight this morning by BarCap with a price target of $115. The company has a market cap of 6.32 billion.
About Danny Fisher
