THE BULL & BEAR

[spencer_has_arrived]

Pre-market Summary

Yesterday, the mkt ended lower following a late-session decline, its third in four sessions. That disappointment has carried over into today, as futures indicate a lower open for the mkt. This morning's leading headlines are the recently released economic data, which for the most part were a wash. The CPI data for Oct matched expectations across the board, while the NY Empire State Index showed a better than expected read of 27.4 (consensus 19.0) and weekly Initial Claims showed a worse than expected 339K (consensus 320K). Futures were choppy following the releases, but are selling off further before the open. Dow futures are currently -75; Nasdaq futures are currently -16.5; S&P futures are currently -10.9. For technical levels of interest, click here. And note today is another busy day for conference presentations... Another bank has disclosed a write-down after booking credit, mortgage and leveraged finance related charges. Barclays (BCS) disclosed net charges and write-downs totaling 1.3 bln pounds ($2.67 bln) at Barclays Capital in Q3 and Oct, but also announced strong pretax profit for the unit... There were three notable earnings releases since yesterday's close. Applied Materials (AMAT) beat Q4 ests by $0.03, but provided Q1 EPS and rev guidance on its call that was noticeably below current consensus ests. The stock is indicated lower by 3% after the co guided EPS at $0.16-$0.20 vs the $0.27 consensus, with revs down 13-18% sequentially, which translates to about $1.90-2.10 bln vs the $2.33 bln consensus. Network Appliances (NTAP), however, beat Q2 ests on both the top and bottom lines, while providing Q3 guidance that was above current ests. This morning, JC Penney (JCP) is indicated lower by 4% after issuing Q4 EPS guidance that was below current ests... The Bond mkt furthered its slight overnight gains following the mostly in-line economic reports, as equity futures traded lower post-data. The 10-yr is currently +10/32 to 4.209%. On today's Fed calendar, Chicago President Evans speak twice, first at 9:45ET and then after the close at 17:30ET, while Kansas City President Hoenig speaks today at 13:30ET... In Commodities, the Department of Energy will be releasing its latest inventory statistics this morning at 10:30ET. Its report, normally scheduled for Wednesday, was delayed a day due to the Veterans Day holiday on Monday. Ahead of the data, crude oil is trading -0.71 to $93.38 and natural gas is trading -0.021 to $7.814... In Europe, mkts were lower by mid-day, erasing gains made earlier this week, with Royal Bank of Scotland and French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis among leading laggards. FTSE is currently -1.4%; DAX is currently -1.7%; CAC is currently -1.4%. In Asia, mkts fell with Hong Kong leading the decline as a weak performance on Wall Street encouraged investors to lock in gains after Wednesday's rally. Nikkei closed -0.7%; Hang Seng closed -1.4%; Shanghai Composite closed -0.9%... Notable pre-market Calls include Upgrades: LEH at Punk Ziegel, MER at Credit Suisse, NTAP at Bear Stearns and Caris & Co, AMZN at Stifel Nicolaus... On the Earnings calendar, 16 cos are confirmed to report after the close, including retailers KSS, SBUX and NCTY... On the Economic calendar, the Nov Philadelphia Fed (consensus 5.0) will be released at 12:00ET.