EmailEquities began the day on a higher note, but the early strength did not hold past the opening minutes. The S&P 500 marked its session best shortly after the open, and headed lower. The morning slide was accompanied by headlines out of the Middle East, which indicated Israeli forces have killed two top Hamas officials in an operation dubbed "Pillar of Defense." After the first-hour slide, the benchmark average held near the 1,365 level until President Obama held a press conference to further discuss the fiscal cliff. During his remarks, the commander-in-chief said he is "hoping for compromise and hoping for new ideas." The president's statements failed to inspire investor confidence, thus resulting in an afternoon sell-off which saw the S&P 500 settle lower by 1.4%.
Today after the close the following companies are scheduled to report earnings: ANW, DRYS, HOTT, IOC, LTD, MBND, NTAP, NTES, PETM, SB, SZYM, SPB, VELT, WSM
Futures are higher after hours: S&P 500 futures are +0.75 from fair value of 1352.65 and Nasdaq100 futures are +0.81 from fair value of 2530.19.
Tomorrow morning before the open three economic reports are scheduled to be released: 1) Initial Claims (Consensus 388k) and Continuing Claims (Consensus 3120k), 2) CPI (Consensus 0.1%) and Core CPI (Consensus 0.1%), and 3) Empire Manufacturing (Consensus -8.5).
Tomorrow before the open the following companies are scheduled to report earnings: AMAP, BONT, BRC, BKE, CSIQ, CATO, PLCE, DANG, DEST, DLTR, EJ, GME, GSOL, HP, MMS, NAFC, PACT, PERY, ROST, SBH, SCR, SSI, TGT, TDG, WMT
