Stocks close with gains across the board...

Another strong day for stocks, as it appears as though traders are not fearing the Euro contagion anymore.

Dow +104
Nas +61
S&P +15 to 1254

All groups move higher except a little weakness in Utilities.

Gold and Silver were up as well, as that trade seems to make no sense.  Someone is buying gold and silver no matter what happens with anything else.  It used to be a fear trade, now it goes up even on strong days.

Big Gainers:

Apple +12.90 to 405.77
Caterpillar +4.38 to 91.77
Wynn Resorts +7.25 to 127.65
CF Industries +5.74 to 159.14
Perrigo +3.85 to 101.01

After the close: Netflix misses on earnings (no secret) the stock is down 18 to 101 - more tomorrow.

FDA approves generic Zyprexa...

The FDA approves the first generic versions of Zyprexa tablets and Zyprexa Zydus orally disintegrating tablets to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The drugs will be jointly manufactured and distributed by Dr. Reddy's Labs (RDY +1%), Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA +0.9%) and Par Pharmaceuticals (PRX +1.9%).

New Issue Municipal Bonds...

Just coming across my desk:

New Issue
Virginia College Building Authority Municipal Bonds
Tax Free
paying 4% per year
Maturity date: 9/1/36
Callable 9/1/21
Selling at 99.75


Might be a good place to put some long-term money.  These are bond for the various Virgnia State Colleges.

Stocks still climbing...

Another nice day, so far, on the heels of a positive day on Friday.

Dow +97
Nas +58
S&P +15 to 1253

Just about every sector is showing strength, so it looks like the market is liking the possibility of some good news on Wednesday concerning the Euro crisis.

SXCI down on Healthspring acquisition...

SXC Health Solutions (SXCI) is down big following news that customer HealthSpring (HS) will be acquired by Cigna (CI). SXCI could be negatively impacted by the deal due to its relationship with HS, which could be in danger since CI likely would provide the same services.

SXCI is currently down 13.44 to 42.98

Oracle buys RightNow Technologies...

Oracle (ORCL) will purchase RightNow Technologies (RNOW) for $43/share, about a 20% premium to the stock's Friday close.

With this deal, Oracle is squarely targeting Salesforce.com (CRM) and NetSuite (N) in the burgeoning market for cloud-based CRM software. While Oracle is a leader in traditional CRM, cloud-based solutions, with their lower up-front costs and faster rollout times, have become a growing threat.

Obviously the Street likes the deal: ORCL +0.36 to 32.46.

Stocks open higher...

Helped by positive earnings from Caterpillar and a few buyouts, stocks are pushing higher in early trading.

Dow +48
Nas +24
S&P +7 to 1245

The S&P is drifting higher thru resistance that we had previously seen in the 1225-1235 range.  Next resitance is at 1300.

I'm not really sure what to think about the European situation.  I can't tell what the market is pricing in.  It looks like traders are anticipating a solution by Wednesday.  If some solution/agreement is not fianlized by then, we could see a quick drop in equities.

Gold and Silver are holding near their recent lows, but are holding up well.  Obviously some LARGE fund or pool of money is propping that trade up.  Here are the charts on the Gold and Silver ETFs:

Caterpillar moves higher after earnings...

Caterpillar reported record sales in its third quarter and predicting full-year results will come in at the higher end of its previous forecast.

The construction equipment and machinery maker recorded a third-quarter profit of $1.1 billion, up 44% from a year earlier, on $15.7 billion in sales that were up 41% from the prior year and set a new company record. On a per-share basis, profits of $1.71 were up 40% from $1.22 a year ago and easily topped the $1.54 consensus estimate.

Excluding costs related to the acquisition of mining equipment business Bucyrus International, Caterpillar earned $1.93 per share on sales of $14.5 billion.

Even more important than Caterpillar’s third-quarter results was the company’s outlook, which sounded a fairly upbeat tone. The company said it expects full-year 2011 earnings and sales to come in at the high end of its previous guidance, at $6.75 per share and $58 billion.

CAT is currently up 4.90 to 92.32

Healthspring to be acquired by Cigna...

HealthSpring Inc., (HS) the Nashville operator of Medicare Advantage health plans, agreed to be acquired by Cigna Corp. for $55 a share, or $3.8 billion. Cigna (CI) is the Bloomfield, Conn., insurer. The deal price is a 37% premium to HealthSpring's closing price Friday at $40.16 a share. 

HealthSpring's Medicare Advantage plans have 340,000 members in 11 states and it operates a Medicare prescription-drug business with 800,000 customers, the companies said in a Monday statement.

IBD's Top 10 stocks...

Here is the latest top 10 rated stocks from Investor's Business Daily:

1. Lulumon Athletica (LULU)
2. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN)
3. Ulta Salon and Cosmetics (ULTA)
4. Herbalife (HLF)
5. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
6. Mastercard (MA)
7. Dollar Tree (DLTR)
8. Hansen Natural (HANS)
9. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
10. Perrigo (PRGO)

Analyst moves....

• BB&T Corp (BBT) price target raised to $24 from $22 at Citigroup

• CME (CME) price target cut to $315 from $350; rating buy at Citigroup

• Duke Realty Corp (DRE) rating raised to outperform at Baird

• Frontline (FRO) rating cut to underweight from equal-weight; price target cut to $4 from $12 at Evercore Partners

• Honeywell International Inc (HON) price target raised to $55 from $48 at Citigroup; price target raised to $59 from $57 at FBR

• ICE (ICE) price target cut to $130 from $134; rating neutral at Citigroup

• LPL Investment Holding Inc (LPLA) coverage assumed with outperform at William Blair

• Newbridge Bancorp (NBBC) price target cut to $5 from $5.50 at KBW

• Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NAT) price target cut to $13 from $19 at Evercore Partners

• Overseas Shipholding (OSG) rating cut to underweight from equal-weight; price target cut to $10 from $23 at Evercore Partners

• Schlumberger (SLB) price target cut to $84 from $88; rating buy at Citigroup

• Seagate Technology Plc. (STX) price target raised to $22 from $18; rating buy at Citigroup

• Suntrust Banks Inc. (STI) price target cut to $30 from $33 at RBC

• Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO) price target raised to $58 from $52 at KBW

• Teradyne Inc. (TER) price target cut to $18 from $21; rating buy at Citigroup

Netflix to offer service in UK and Ireland...

Netflix Inc. (NFLX). The company said it will launch a subscription service in the United Kingdom and Ireland in early 2012, offering unlimited TV shows and movie streaming over the Internet. The service will be available to customers on a monthly subscription basis, Netflix said.

Good Morning...

U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a higher open this morning on hopes for a concrete plan to solve the European debt crisis, with leaders having made some progress over the weekend.

The Dow begins the new week coming off a four week winning streak, the only one of the major averages currently in positive territory for 2011.

October, traditionally one of the worst months of the year for stocks, is on track for the best monthly gain for the S&P 500 since March 2000, while the Dow is on pace for its best monthly point gain since April 1999.

Have a good weekend....

I am checking out for the weekend.  I'll leave you with an update.  Stocks are still holding early gains.

Dow +210
Nas +46
S&P +22 to 1238

My guess is if nothing happens in Europe this weekend, that we will sell off any gains we end up with today.

Capitol One reports better-than-expected earnings...

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF). The company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as net interest income rose and the bank set aside less money for loan losses. Capital One reported third-quarter net income of $813 million, or $1.77 per share and total revenues rose 3.4 percent to $4.15 billion from $4 billion a year ago.

COF is up 1.91 to 42.40 on the news

Chipotle beats...stock flies...

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). The company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit as robust sales at established restaurants offset higher food costs. Third-quarter net income was $60.4 million, or $1.90 per share, up from $48.2 million, or $1.52 cents per share, a year earlier and revenue rose 24.1 percent to $591.9 million.

CMG is currently up 20 to 328.20

GE meets expectations...

General Electric Co. (GE). The conglomerate reported an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit that met Wall Street's expectations, as revenue rose across its big energy, aviation, healthcare and transportation arms. Third-quarter earnings attributable to common shareholders came to $2.34 billion, or 22 cents per share, compared with $1.98 billion, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.


GE is opening down 0.26 to 16.37

Stocks burst out of the gate...

In sympathy with a big European short covering rally, stocks are flying early.

Dow +152
Nas +30
S&P +16 to 1231

Not sure this rally will hold, but traders will probably cover all shorts by the end of the day in fear that something positive may hapen in Europe on Sunday.

Groupon sets offering price...

Groupon (GRPN) plans to offer 30M shares at about $17/share, bringing in $479M. With a total 633M shares outstanding, the IPO would give Groupon a valuation of $10.76B. Valuation estimates have ranged from $25B early this year to as low as $3-5B earlier this month.

When this comes out, it will surely be a hot one, however, once the dust settles, it will be one of the great shorts of all-time.

Good Morning...

U.S. stocks continue to be vulnerable to every headline emerging from Europe, where leaders are preparing for a weekend summit to talk about the debt crisis.

The Dow has now alternated between gains and losses for 11 consecutive sessions, the S&P 500 for seven, highlighting the uncertain nature of investor sentiment these days.

The Dow has only experienced such a streak of 11 sessions or longer five other times in its history.

We now know that a definitive plan to ease the European debt crisis won't happen at this weekend's gathering - that is now hoped to happen in a second summit set to happen by Wednesday at the latest.