Pre-opening Comments for Friday May 3rd U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures added 58 points at 8:35 AM EDT S&P 500 futures added 39 points following release of the U.S. April Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for April Non-farm Payrolls was a drop to 210,000 from 303,000 in March. Actual was a drop to 175,000. Consensus for the April Unemployment Rate was unchanged from March at 3.8%. Actual was up 0.1 to 3.9%. Consensus for April Average Hourly Earnings was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.3% in March. Actual was up 0.2%. Apple advanced ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Thursday May 2nd U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 33 points at 8:35 AM EDT. Index futures were unchanged following release of the March U.S. Trade report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a deficit of $68.00 billion versus a deficit of $68.90 billion in February. Actual was a deficit of $69.4 billion. Qualcomm advanced $5.74 to $169.70 after reporting higher than consensus quarterly earnings. Door Dash dropped $14.32 to $113.00 after reporting a higher than consensus quarterly loss. Carvana added $20.85 to $108.01 after repo ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday May 1st U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 20 points at 8:30 AM EDT. Focus today is on the FOMC’s announcement on the Fed Fund Rate at 2:00 PM EDT. Consensus calls for no change in the Rate at 5.25%-5.50%. Amazon added $2.16 to $177.16 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter revenues and earnings. Starbucks plunged $10.03 to $78.46 after reporting less than consensus quarterly revenues and earnings. Super Micro Computers dropped $31.55 to $858.80 after reporting less than consensus third quarter reve ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday April 30th U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures dropped 23 points at 8:35 AM EDT. The Canadian Dollar dropped 0.22 to US 72.90 cents following release of Canada’s February GDP report. Consensus was an increase of 0.3%. Actual was an increase of 0.2% NXP Semiconductor advanced $9.39 to $256.52 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings. F5 dropped $19.49 to $162.64 after reporting less than consensus quarterly revenues. Coursera plunged $2.07 to $9.82 after reporting less than consensus quarterly revenues. C ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Monday April 29th U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures added 12 points at 8:30 AM EDT. Apple advanced $3.34 to $172.64 after Bernstein upgraded the stock to Buy. Southwest Airlines dropped $0.34 to $26.69 after Jefferies downgraded the stock. Domino’s Pizza added $22.93 to $522.00 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings. Tesla added $15.16 to $183.30 after receiving approval in China for launch of autonomous cars.   The Bottom Line Focus this week in on the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates ann ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Thursday April 25th U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 50 points at 8:35 AM EDT. S&P 500 futures dropped another 14 points following release of U.S. first quarter annualized GDP at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 2.5% versus a gain of 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Actual was an increase of 1.6%. Meta Platforms plunged $70.18 to $423.32 after offering second quarter revenue guidance less than consensus. The other “Fantastic Four” stocks responded to the downside following release of the META report. Microsoft dr ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Wednesday April 24th U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 14 points at 8:35 AM EDT. S&P 500 Index futures were unchanged following release of the March Durable Goods Orders report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a 2.5% increase versus a gain of 3.4% in February. Actual was an increase of 2.6%. Excluding transportation orders, consensus was a 0.3% increase versus a 0.3% gain in February. Actual was an increase of 2 points. Visa advanced $8.66 to $282.75 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal second quarter results. Tex ..read more

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points at 8:30 AM EDT. Nucor dropped $11.63 to $180.00 after reporting lower than consensus first quarter earnings. The company also lowered second quarter guidance. Cadence Design Systems dropped $20.63 to $264.39 after lowering second quarter guidance. Cleveland Cliffs dropped $0.70 to $20.15 after reporting lower first quarter earnings. General Motors added $1.79 to $45.00 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings.   Technical Notes Kraft Heinz $KHC an S&P 100 stock moved above ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Monday April 22nd U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 22 points at 8:30 AM EDT. Tesla dropped $5.30 to $141.75 after announcing a $2,000 price reduction for its U.S. produced autos. Verizon added $1.70 to $76.50 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter revenues and earnings. AZZ added $1.70 to $76.50 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal fourth quarter revenues and earnings. Kura Oncology added $0.58 to $18.11 after receiving a break through designation for a leukemia therapy.   The Bottom Line Shor ..read more

Pre-opening Comments for Friday April 19th U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 8:30 AM EDT. Netflix dropped $22.56 to $588.00 despite reporting a higher than consensus increase in subscribers. Also, first quarter revenues and earnings beat consensus. KB Homes gained $1.59 to $62.00 after the company lifted its dividend by 25% and authorized a $1 Billon share buyback program. PPG Industries dropped $0.57 to $134.54 after reporting less than consensus first quarter revenues. The company also announced a $2.5 billion share buyback program. P ..read more