Stocks get pounded in last hour...

More volatility.  That's really all you can say.  No real reason to sell off, but that's traders did.

Dow -246
Nas -52
S&P -23 to 1200

Only good thing to say was that the S&P held up at 1200.

Lots of earnings due overnight, so maybe we'll find a reason to go up tomorrow.

Walgreens and Express Scripts may have a breakthrough...

Walgreen (WAG +3.5%) says it has offered terms to Express Scripts (ESRX -0.7%) that would allow it to continue serving the Defense Department's 6M-member Tricare program, despite a broader contract dispute between the two companies. Although the two sides remain "miles apart" in reaching a deal, a quiet arrangement may hint at a future breakthrough.

Earnings due on Tuesday morning...

Here are a few notable stocks due to report earnings tomorrow before the open:

United Healthcare (UNH) -0.03 to 47.19
Goldman Sachs (GS) -0.48 to 96.21
Checkpoint Software (CHKP) -0.60 to 58.29
Coca-Cola (KO) -0.49 to 67.35
Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) -0.66 to 64.06
Bank of America (BAC) -0.12 to 6.08
EMC Corp. (EMC) -0.52 to 22.57
Harley Davidson (HOG) -0.58 to 37.29

Earnings after the bell today...

Here is how a few notable stocks are trading ahead of their earnings to be released after the close today:

IBM -4.07 ot 186.53
VMWare (VMW) -3.62 to 89.38
Lincare Holdings (LNCR) -0.67 to 21.58
Steel Dynamics (STLD) -0.65 to 10.77

1 pm Update...

Stocks are selling off in the wake a many analyst downgrades this morning. 

Dow -196
Nas -49
S&P -19 to 1205

Weakness in banks, commodities, technology and metals are leading the market lower.

The Volatility Index (VIX) is staring to spike again.  It is currently +4.07 to 32.31

Remember the Vix had spiked up to 46 during the last selloff.

Haliburton beats estimates...but stock sells off...

Halliburton Co. (HAL). The oilfield services company reported a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit, as more drillers tapped its expertise in extracting oil and gas from U.S. shale rock. Net profit climbed to $683 million, or 74 cents per share, from $544 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier.


HAL is currently down 2.66 to 34.80

Stocks open lower...

Stocks are having a weak open here as it appears to be some disappointment that no positive news came out of Europe over the weekend.

Dow -86
Nas -17
S&P -9 to 1214

Main pockets of weakness are in Banks, Agriculture and Technology.  Gold is flat, Silver is down for the first time in several sessions.

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target at Credit Suisse.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Started as Hold at Argus.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.

Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) Cut to Underperform as bear of the day at Zacks.

Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) Added to the U.S. 1 List at BofA/ML.

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Sell at Canaccord Genuity

Anadarko settles with BP...

In the oil industry, Anadarko Petroleum (APC) will pay BP (BP) $4 billion in a settlement over Gulf Oil spill cleanup costs. That's seen as less than half the amount it might have had to pay had the case gone to court. As part of the agreement, Anadarko will no longer pursue allegations of gross negligence against BP.

Kinder Morgan Buys El Paso...

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI). The company struck a $21 billion deal to buy rival El Paso Corp (EP), combining the two largest natural gas pipeline operators in North America in a huge bet on the fast-growing market for that fuel. The cash and stock deal announced on Sunday values El Paso at a 37 percent premium to its Friday market value.

IBD's Top 10 Stocks...

Here are Investor's Business Daily's Top 10 Stocks...

1. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN)
2. Lulumon Athletica (LULU)
3. Ulta Salon & Cosmetics (ULTA)
4. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
5. Herbalife (HLF)
6. First Cash Financial (FCFS)
7. Perrigo (PRGO)
8. Mastercard (MA)
9. Yamana Gold (AUG)
10. Dollar Tree (DLTR)

Stocks to watch...

El Paso Corporation (EP) leads our list of stocks to watch this morning, as it agrees to be bought by rival Kinder Morgan (KMI) in a $21 billion cash deal that combines the two largest natural gas pipeline operators in North America.

Sprint Nextel (S) could also be a stock to watch today, as the company says it set a single-day device sales record Friday as the iPhone 4S went on sale at its stores.

Research In Motion (RIMM) is offering BlackBerry users free premium apps, normally costing more than $100, to appease customers upset by last week's service disruptions.

Rio Tinto (RIO) is putting an estimated $8 billion in aluminum assets up for sale, signaling a retreat from that business just four years after buying Alcan for $38 billion.

State Street (STT) could see some upside action today as billionaire investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Group calls for changes, including a spinoff of the investment management business.

And Eastman Kodak (EK) is licensing thousands of its patents to Imax in a deal that will supply the troubled company with millions of dollars.

Earnings releases take center stage...

This week marks the start of the heaviest part of earnings season, with Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Hasbro (HAS), Halliburton (HAL), and Gannett (GCI) highlighting this morning's releases.

Dow component IBM (IBM) and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) are among the companies set to release after today's closing bell.

Good Morning...

U.S. stocks may find last week's performance difficult to top: the S&P 500 registered its best weekly percentage gain since July 2009, the Nasdaq since March 2009.

The gains put the major averages on track for their biggest monthly gains since September 2010, and the Dow and Nasdaq are now positive for 2011 (the S&P 500, however, is still lower by 2.6% for the year to date).

Stocks close out nice week...

Stocks close at their highs for the week.  A strong afternoon move in the Oils accompanied the earlier push in Tech stocks.  It seems that sellers have all turned the other way and are now long.  Obviously mutual funds are being sucked in as they do not want to be seen as the only fund that did not make money this year. 

Dow +166 to 11644
Nas +47 to 2667
S&P +20 to 1224

Have a nice weekend everybody.  Hopefully we can continue this rally next week.

At 3:30 pm...

Stocks are holding on to gains...as it looks like funds are putting money to work.  Even banks have started to join the party.

Dow +121
Nas +37
S&P +16 to 1219

We continue to sit just below the 1220 mark on the S&P.

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.


Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.

Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) Started as Hold at Argus.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at IS Group.

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Started as Buy at ISI Group.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.

Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT) Started as Equal-Weight at Barclays.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.

Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE: PAA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

TAL International Group, Inc. (NYSE: TAL) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) lowered target to $12 as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Xbox picking up market share...

Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 accounted for 42% of U.S. retail console sales in September, according to NPD, as the runaway success of its Kinect add-on bolsters demand. However, industry-wide hardware sales fell 9% Y/Y, as the major consoles show their age. Software sales rose 3%, fueled by strong demand for Electronic Arts' (ERTS) Madden NFL 12.

Noon Update....

Stocks are still higher but down off earlier levels. 

Dow +77
Nas +21
S&P +10 to 1214

Apple and Google still leading the way for Technology.  Banks are now lower and Gold and Silver are now flat.

Ford F-150 selling briskly...

Ford (F) says its Ford F-150 pickups equipped with six-cylinder EcoBoost engines are selling briskly, and will account for 45% of retail sales of the model moving forward. The EcoBoost engine falls in line with regulators' push for fuel efficiency, and offers consumers 18 mpg vs. 14-17 mpg on 8-cylinder models.