The major stock averages are posting big gains in morning trading as earnings season is in full swing. Two of biggest tech companies, IBM and Intel, are expected to announce their earnings after the closing bell today. There was also a couple of economic data reports today. Homebuilder sentiment touched a six-year high, but the upward momentum has slowed according to the National Association of Home Builders. Consumer prices rose 0.6% in September, meeting analysts’ predictions. Industrial output also went up in September to 0.4%, with analysts expecting an increase to 0.2%.
Reports from Europe continue to hint that Spain is preparing to request a bailout package. We’ve been hearing about Spain requesting a bailout for months now so I wouldn’t hold your breath for that piece of news.
The Dow is currently up 107 points, the Nasdaq is up 17 points and the S&P 500 is up 10 points.
Stocks to Watch
Identive Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:INVE) is up 32.38% today at $1.39. INVE has traded 1.9 million shares so far today, way above its daily average of 100 thousand shares. INVE shares are up today after the company extends its secure ID card authentication to Apple mobile devices. The company has a market cap of 81.66 million.
Premier Exhibitions Inc. (NASDAQ:PRXI) is up 17.72% this morning at $2.7870. PRXI has traded 275 thousand shares so far today, well above its daily average of 74 thousand shares. PRXI shares are up today after posting a profit for the second quarter and seeing a 64% increase in revenue from last year. Premier Exhibitions also announced it has signed a LOI to purchase assets pertaining to the Titanic for around $190 million. The company has a market cap of 134.44 million.
AspenBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPY) is up 8.96% today at $2.80. APPY is trading heavy volume today with 368 thousand shares traded, about 50% more than its daily average volume. Yesterday, AspenBio proposed a corporate name change to Venaxis and an increase to the number of shares available under its equity plan. The company has a market cap of 22.05 million.
AU Optronics Corp. (NYSE:AUO) is up 9.17% today at $3.93. AUO has traded 675 thousand shares this morning and trades 970 thousand shares a day on average. AUO shares are up today on reports the company will see a smaller net operating loss for the third quarter. The company has a market cap of 3.46 billion.
Fossil, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOSL) is up 8.53% this morning at $92.21. FOSL has traded just over a million shares already today and trades 1.1 million shares a day on average. FOSL shares are rallying today as Citigroup upgrades the stock to buy. The company has a market cap of 5.57 billion.
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ) is up 6.75% today at $40.82. DPZ has traded 1.8 million shares this morning, well above its daily average of 567 thousand shares. DPZ shares are up after reporting third quarter results. Domino’s Pizza beat Wall Street expectations and saw profit beat estimates thanks to increased sales. The company has a market cap of 2.32 billion.
About Danny Fisher
