9:05am (EST)
The market traded in negative territory for the most part on Wednesday although the afternoon session saw more strength. Trading was choppy after lunch and the bears ended up taking the day as the Dow dipped 20 points to settle at 10,038.
The bulls stepped in when the Dow slipped to 9,962 a little while after the open and after hearing Big Ben’s plans to scale back the Fed’s support for the economy. This could mean rising interest rates but they can’t stay at zero forever, right?
As far as the other indexes, their losses were minimal as well. The Nasdaq shed 3 points and closed at 2,147 while the S&P 500 lost 2 points and will start the day at 1,068.
There are still dark clouds over the market and the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are a big concern. A meeting of the minds (European Union officials) is scheduled for today so the market will be hinging on every word that is leaked from the grapevine.
There have made no decisions on how to help Greece but the market is thinking France and Germany will come up with some kind of aid package. If the threat of a potential default starts to fade then it will be one less negative the bulls have to deal with.
We have a big day for earnings and here is the list of companies reporting. Some are in the process of reporting right now, before the bell. Those companies include Pepsi (PEP, $60.38, up $0.33), Philip Morris (PM, $46.81, down $0.04) and Viacom (VIA, $30.26, down $0.23).
Companies reporting AFTER the bell that could be set for big moves on Friday: Blue Nile (NILE, $50.91, up $2.25), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD, $47.61, up $0.80), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG, $99.51, down $1.14) and Panera Bread (PNRA, $72.37, down $0.20).
We take a look at some possible option trades on a couple of these names this morning in the Members Area. We will profile cheap out-of-the-money calls and puts and although there are risks, the rewards are a double or more in less than 24 hours.
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