TECHNICALS- SPX

Markets have turned lower on the heels of some dissappointing news from MU and some "unpleasant" comments from some guy at the Fed. Overbought market conditions may also be contributing to the turn around.

The worst performing major market indexes are the "tech heavy" NAZ and the small caps.

Strongest sectors are metals and utilities while the worst are gaming, reits, brokers, small caps, airlines, tech, internets and semis.

Market internals are very ugly with a red 1,400 on the NYSE and red 1,200 on the NAZ.

The NDX has about 13 gainers with CMVT BRCM LVLT MEDI up and WYNN AKAM JNPR NIHD and NVDA lower.

The OEX has about 25 winners with GM F AVP NSM and AES higher while ATI LEH DIS MER CSCO C and GOOG are leading to the downside.

Volatility indexes have turned way green and the VIX/VXO are both near the 11 level and about 6%/7% above their 10 day SMA's. No buy signal yet but maybe on Monday if they take em down a little more.

The SPX is giving a little buy signal with the 2 day RSI under 10 and a pullback to the 21 day SMA which has been a pretty good buy level in the past. The recent tight trading range is skewing the RSI reading as a small dip now results in a buy signal. So just some food for thought.

MAD MONEY?

Time to check back in on the great Cramer tech call from January 18 where he said you can't own tech here except for AAPL CSCO GOOG HPQ and MSFT. Well I am closing out the short those 5 stocks and long SMH/XLK. So how did it work? Ha.

AAPL 92.74 >84.06 -9.4%

CSCO 27.01> 27.6 +2.2%

GOOG 494.56>465.13 -6%

HPQ 42.49>42.35 FLAT

MSFT 31.08>29.23 -6%

SMH 34.1>34.05 FLAT

XLK 23.16>23.57 +1.8%

I won't weight them in any particular way but its pretty clear how well he did.

CLUELESS

Moronic talk this morning from Mark Haines, which is not surprising, and Bob Pisani which does surprise me a bit. Mark applauding the action of the cash SPX or "NYSE floor traders" as the "Futures traders in Chicago" try to take down the markets. Hey Mark, how do you know its not someone who is trading from a beach in Bora Bora trying to make money. Did you ever here of electronic trading of SP Futures from a desktop computer? And if there are discrepancies between the cash SPX and the ES Futures, how long do you think that will last? A few seconds?

As for Pisani dissing the returns of hedge funds, well the returns probably don't equal those of the SPX of late, but they don't take on the risk of owning 100% stocks. Returns have to be measured against risk taken to achieve the returns. Got that Bob. And how might hedge funds have done in the period between 1966 and 1982 when the DJIA went from 1,000 to 1,000. My guess is outperform big time with a lot less risk. And how do you know, Bob, that the SPX will not be at 1,450 in 2015? Not sure if they just don't understand the simple concept of "hedging" or are just cheerleading owning equities.

MIXED OPEN

Markets open with some indexes up and some down with the Big Caps outperforming (still early in the day).

Strongest sectors include semis semis (dump em on upgrade days), metals, brokers, airlines, emerging markets, retail, biotechs, tech, drugs and large cap value.

Weakest include homies, software, integrated oils and small cap growth.

Key stocks are generally lower with GS being an exception as it trades back to the 52 week high in the vicinity of $220. GOOG AAPL MA ICE NYX BOT CME all lower with MER MS IAI higher.

The NDX shows about 60/40 between winners and losers with LVLT BRCM SHLD VRSN ALTR the winners and JNPR AKAM AEOS ERIC NIHD and YHOO the losers.

On the OEX, about 65/35 between winners and losers with GM F AVP NSM AES and GS the winners and EK DIS CAT CSCO IP DELL and ATI the losers.

The SPX has about 320 gainers with BRCM SANM and NSM among the winners and BMC EQ X CBG BIG HAS and CVH among the losers.

Volatility indexes are near the unchanged levels and will probably do their usual Friday drift lower if nothing surprising happens.

THE WIRES

Futures are trading flat which is quite surprising in light of the JPM bullish take on semis.

Morining news includes:

insider selling reported at MER; Business week profiling HIG which was also mentioned in the barron's roundtable; the Indian markets have hit new highs again; BLK added to C's rec list while MAR is dropped; CC target raised to $30 at CIBC; LEA agrees to be acquired by Icahn group;

Gapping up - CEGE CHINA CTO MA F WOLF HANS GM SHLD SAP BRCM GS SHLD

Gapping down- SIMG CWTR BMC JOYG HMY NYX

If anyone cares, in this Shark's portfolio:

AAPL ABER AMGN BBBY BHP CTO CTSH CVS DEL FTO GDX GG GS HHH IAI IBN INFY ITA IMPUY IWM JOE HLX LIZ MGM MMM MO MS NOV OIH PAAS PXD SAY SLG SMH SSRI SYK TIF TRC TROW UPS VLO VSL XLE XTO

And stuff I am interested in buying/adding : ARE CTO FEC FLA JOE HIG LM MO SLG

And stuff I want to dump: AAPL SMH

CLOSING BELL

Markets closed the day mixed with the SPX/DJIA group red and the RUT/MID group slightly green. Speaking of the midcaps and the smallcaps, they both hit new all time highs today. But don't forget, big caps are cheap.

Strongest sectors today included metals, oils, biotech, tech, utilities, small cap growth, internets and retail. The losers, the aforementioned big caps, homies semis, airlines, brokers, trannies, banks and drugs.

GS GOOG AAPL ICE NYX all higher while BOT CME MER MS IAI KLAC lower.

Market internals improved through the day and closed with a net of 125 losers at the NYSE and 50 losers at the NAZ.

The NDX was split between winners and losers while the SPX had slightly more losers. The OEX
was a bit more skewed to the losing side. The DJIA was lackluster with 8 winners and 21 losers.

Best on the DJIA were AA XOM T HPQ and GM while C BA GE MO MCD and AIG were the worst.

Best stocks included EMC AVP WMB AES CVX IP JNPR AKAM EXPD GRMN and APOL while LVLT MXIM ATVI CMVT EK PEP LEH and NSC were the worst.

Volatility indexes came back near the flat line after rising 5% earlier in the day. Seems like old times as every little dip gets bought and folks who are waiting or calling for a decent sized correction continue to wait.

And why did oil flip green to near the $60 line? Not sure, but if it breaks on through, the next stop in my opinion is $65 and back to the $150 level on the OIH.

Two long time favorites on this blog have been SSRI and MGM, both at/near 52 week highs again.

AFTERNOON BOUNCE

Markets are making an attempt at an afternoon comeback after what has been a fairly interesting 3 hours of trading. The big caps are underperforming even on this down day.

The "tech heavy" NAZ trades well at about break even and the SMH trades down 8 cents.

Strong sectors include the metals, biotech, silvers, utilities, tech, internets, small cap growth, retail and integrated oils.

Weak stuff includes big caps, homies, banks, brokers, large cap value, airlines and trannies.

The bonds may be influencing the trade this afternoon as the rate on the 10 year has flipped down to 4.722%.

Market internals continue red with negative 375 on the NYSE and negative 150 on the NAZ.

The SPX has 230 winners while the NDX is even between winners and losers; the big cap OEX has 35 up to 65 down.

GS GOOG AAPL ICE NYX all nicely in the green after starting out ugly while MER MS CME BOT have all come back to only slightly in the red.

Volatility indexes have already come back down from the morning highs and the VXO is now only a hair above the 10 level.

And interesting stuff on CNBC this morning as more folks are looking for a correction now that the market is down a bit. My guess, this dip is for buying and next week we will again be knocking on the DJIA 12,700 door forgetting all the new highs we will see on the MID and the RUT. Tech also looks good as the semis refuse to go lower of late.

OPENING DIVE

Markets have opened lower with news on the loan front from HSBC stirring the equities. The DJIA is -43, NAZ -9 and SPX -5.

Strong sectors are few but include bioechs, metals, utilities, eits, drugs and some tech including software. Leading lower are finanicals, brokers, banks, homnies, emerging markets, semis, oils, gaming, small caps and large cap value.

Key stocks are lower with GS CME MS MER are leading the swoon GOOG AAPL and KLAC are also red. ICE is green as a "tier 1" firm upgraded and put on a $170 price target.

Market internals are all red with about 800 net red on NYSE and net 560 red on the NAZ. The SPX has 175 green, NDX about 40 green and OEX about 25 trading higher.

Volatility indexes have bounced about 5% as both the VIX and the VXO now trade in the mid 10 range.

Strongest stocks include EMC AVP DIS AA SLE MDT HPQ APOL XRAY SIRI AMLN CC and OMX while LVLT AKAM MXIM ERIC NVDA COST LEH COF MS GS INTC and MER are leading lower.

STRONG SMALL CAPS

Markets closed near where they started again except for the "tech heavy" NAZ which ended up 19 on the heels of good numbers from CSCO.

The DJIA got to a high of 12,700 and sold off down to the 12,630 area before rebounding and closing back at yesterday's close. A range of about 70, so not quite up to the usual 90 point spread but closer than the last few days.

As mentioned on more than few occasions, I expect more new highs on the DJIA and check the action in the RUT/IWM. Yes, up about 3/4% while the Big caps act punk, but don't forget "that is where the value resides." Another down day for GE PFE XOM BA MSFT JNJ IBM PG KO MO and WMT. Not sure if I want value or higher prices on my stocks/indexes.

Strongest sectors included semis, internets, tech, reits, small caps, small cap value, brokers, defense, and biotech. Underperforming were oils, metals, drugs, airlines, homies, emerging markets and large cap value.

Volatility indexes closed lower with the VXO reading at an oversold (bearish) 9.72 and the VIX a not so terrible 10.32.

On another interesting note, the NDX closed with about 80 winners to 20 losers; the SPX with 300 up to 200 down and the OEX with 50/50 between winners and losers.

All in all, a good day for tech and the small caps and a flat day for the big caps which continue to act poorly in relation to all the other major indexes.

STOP TRADING

So like clockwork, Jimmy came out with the shill at 2:40 est on CNBC and said yes, we can own tech here because its "down so darn much." Well truth be told the stuff that is down so darn much is GOOG MSFT and AAPL while the XLK has been higher since he uttered his "can't own tech here" the first time.

And my DJIA Futures call wasn't that good either as the futures hit their peak at 12,730 and turned around. I am still in the "buy the dip" mode so I haven't given up on the DJIA making another new high shortly.

And how terrible are these big caps as the DJIA/SPX / OEX continue to underperform big time being the only major market indexes that are flat to down on the day.

And now Dylan is blaming the turn around in the indexes on the weakness in XOM. Interesting as they usually believe that lower oil prices are good for equities. Nice Job.

MIDDAY LULL

Big caps called again on CNBC more strategists as PFE BA JNJ MSFT C MO GE and PG all trade lower. The Midcaps and Small caps are again outperforming the OEX/SPX/DJIA.

The "tech heavy" NAZ is outperforming, as all stuff tech acts well. Any shot that our guy Cramer comes out with a "you gotta own tech" call to offset his "you can't own tech" call from the other day.

Strongest sectors included tech, semis, internets, reits, biotech, small cap value, silver, emerging markets and integrated oils. Leading lower are airlines, drugs, utilities and homies. And another great day for MGM.

Metals are flattish today and Bill Cara has some wisdom on silver. Long time holdings of mine and definitely still bullish.

Market internals continue strong with over 90 green on the NDX, 330 green on the SPX and 55 green on the OEX.

The NYSE has a net 750 green while the NAZ has 640 net green.

AAPL GS GOOG BOT CME MER MS IAI KLAC all green although hardly rip roaring higher.

Best of the 30 on the DJIA include CAT HPQ GM INTC DD and AXP while PFE AA T BA MRK and MSFT lag.

Other big winners include CSCO CSC CAT CI S APOL BRCM XRAY LVLT TLAB and INFY while the biggest losers include MEDI ADSK TYC SLE PFE AVP and EK.

The DJIA Futures have been hanging at there first level of daily resistance for the last few hours and I expect a try to the second level near the 12,745 level.

MORNING MARKETS

After some slight hesitation near the open and a gap fill, markets have turned higher on the heels of the CSCO guidance. Oil inventory numbers out and it looks like not much of a reaction to a higher gasoline build and an unexpected draw down in crude.

The DJIA +20 (new all time high), SPX +3 (new post bubble March 2000 high) and NAZ +12.

Strongest sectors include tech, semis, reits, internets, metals, oils, defense, biotech and small cap value. Leading lower are airlines, drugs, utilities, homies and emerging markets.

The internals on the NDX are very strong with 85 out of 100 components in the green. The SPX has about 320 higher and the OEX with about 65 in the green.

Market internals on the NYSE are +650 and +470 on the NAZ.

Key stocks are mixed with GS AAPL MER MS IAI KLAC AMAT HHH all green while GOOG ICE NYX BOT CME are all in the red.

Biggest winners include CSCO MGM CSC CAT HPQ S NSC BRCM APOL XRAY TLAB and INFY while MEDI ADSK RIMM BEAS BBBY GOOG SLE TYC AVP and TXN are some of the biggest losers.

Volatility indexes still above 10 so I am still looking for higher prices. Resistance on the YM DJIA Futures at 12,722/12,746. We are also right at the 1,450 mark on the SPX, so if they bust through there could be further to go as stops likely sitting at these levels.

PRE OPEN

Futures are trading up on the heels of the CSCO guidance and a new high on the DJIA (post bubble high on SPX) may be made at/near the open.

On the Wires:

BSC with positive comments on MOT; Piper sees solid upside for AKAM; ICE beats by 7 cents but light on revenues; GILD added to "conviction buy list" at GS; TASR says study finds "prolonged exposure from a TASER electronic control device has no abnormal respiratory effects on human subjects"; and its Wednesday, oil crop report at 10:30 est.

Gapping up BHP CSCO AVNX TIVO CELL NAPS CSC BRCM MOT and TSL.

Gapping down- WIRE VFC FRX WHR CAKE RL TYC MEDI RTP ICE and EOP.

A heads up on the recent range of the SPX/DJIA- Over the last four days, the SPX has had a daily range of 8.75, 4.85, 5.5 and 6.8 while the DJIA has been even more narrow with ranges of 67, 46, 51 and 47 points. The typical range on the SPX has been about 10 while on the DJIA it has been near 90 so we are set up for a range expansion; Question of when not if and today would not surprise me. And another interesting article on the short term 2 day RSI and Liz finally getting some press.

INDEX PICKERS MARKET

Chatter on CNBC about the recent jig of the midcaps. Yes, they are outperforming all the major market indexes.

Here is how other indexes/sectors/stocks have done for this year as of 2/6/07. What is pretty clear and consistent with the last several years is that if you just buy large caps, you will underperform, except of course against large caps.

Also, note the DJIA is about 15 points below its all time high and the SPX hit a new post bubble (March 2000 at 1,553) high today at 1,450. Just imagine if the journalists at CNBC veered off the big caps and started looking where the real action is:

Mid Caps- +5.3% (9% in 2006)

Small Caps +2.9% (17% in 2006)

Large Growth +2% (6.5% in 2006)

Large Value +1.6% (19% in 2006)

Small Growth +4.8% (8.5% in 2006)

Small Value -1.1% (23% in 2006)

Wilshire 5,000 +2.7% (13.9% in 2006)

SPX +2.1% (13.6% in 2006)

DJIA +1.6% (16.3% in 2006)

OEX +1.3% (15.9% in 2006)

NDX +2.1% (6.8% in 2006)

NAZ COMPQ +2.3% (9.5% in 2006)

MSH FLAT (8.8% in 2006)

SMH +1.7% (-8.2% in 2006)

HHH (internets) +6.5% (-20.4% in 2006)

IAI (brokers/exchanges) +6.7%

ITA (aero/defense) +6.2%

MGM +25.7% (56.4% in 2006)

SSRI +13.1% (100.4% in 2006)

BKX +1.3% (13.2% in 2006)

TRAN +7.8% (8.7% in 2006)

HGX (homebuilders) +7.8% (-9.1% in 2006)

GS +7.7% (56.1% in 2006)

GOOG +2.4% (11% in 2006)

AAPL -.8% (18% in 2006)

CME +13.6% (38.7% in 2006)

ICE +32.6% (197% in 2006)

MSFT -1.2% (14.2% in 2006)

GE -2.4% (6.2% in 2006)

C -1.3% (14.8% in 2006)

XOM -1.5% (36.4% in 2006)

VLO +8.3% (FLAT in 2006)

OIH FLAT (8.4% in 2006)

XLE FLAT (16.5% in 2006)

IYR (reits) +11.8% (30% in 2006)

XRT (retail) +5.4%

CLOSING CNBC

Markets closed slightly higher with the DJIA +4.5, NAZ +1 and SPX +1. YOWZA.

And Congratulations to CNBC and Maria for finally finding a portfolio manager to recommend Big Caps and Big Cap Tech specifically. Of course, if one wanted to play those sectors one could just buy SPY or QQQQ and eliminate any need for a portfolio manager and their fees. Unlikely for CNBC to go there as how will they ever find another PM to discuss Big Cap stocks.

Anyhow, the markets went up, the markets went down and the markets went back up as the DJIA had another tight range day with a whole 46 points between the top and bottom.

The "don't short the market" remains the main button on my computer and I don't intend to replace it any time soon.

Strongest sectors included internets, airlines, silver, emerging markets, utilities, metals, retail, banks, midcaps, smallcaps, homies, oil service and small cap value.

Weakest included gaming, semis, integrated oils, biotech and software.

Market internals on the NYSE closed very strong with about 920 more winners than losers while the NAZ was slightly green with about 325 more green than red.

SPX had about 300 green with the OEX 55 green and NDX with 45 green.

GOOG and GS remained green all day while AAPL NYX MER and MS were flat. AAPL is a bit green on the heels of Job's comments about DRM.

Best stocks today included NOV JOE ABER SSRI HHH NVDA YHOO AMZN AVP AES F GM EX and LTD. Weakest included MEDI NSM HQP TYC AMGN TXN BAX DELL MO AKAM XMSR ADSK MXIM and BEAS.

CSCO looks like a better than expected 2 cent beat in EPS with revenues at $8.4B vs. Consensus $8.28. Don't ever discount Johnny Chambers ability to beat by a penny or 2. Oh and the quote- down 2% as I type. Everyone can now relax as CSCO is in.

Positive volume slightly exceeded negative volume and the TRIN closed at a bearish 1.24. Seems like the greater volume is flowing to the red stocks.

NOON TRADE

Markets continue to trade lower on the heels of the lousy action/new out of the semi group as NSM is the latest to offer crummy guidance.

The DJIA is -14, NAZ-12 and SPX -2.

Strongest sectors continue to be metals, internets, utilities, airlines, banks, retail, brokers and midcaps. Trading lower are gaming, semis, tech, software, biotech, trannies and large cap growth..

Strongest stocks include NVDA YHOO TLAB JOYG COST AVP AES LTD GM and DOW while the weakest include NSM TYC HPQ DELL BAX TXN ORCL AKAM IACI and WYNN.

Market internals gave a false impression this morning as the majority of stocks opened higher. Currently the NYSE is +250 and NAZ -350.

The NDX has about 15 gainers; the OEX and SPX about even between winners and losers.

GS and GOOG continue to trade higher while other key stocks such as AAPL ICE CME MER KLAC continue lower.

The range so far on the DJIA, 46 points vs an average of about 90 over the last several weeks. So I expect some volatility just trying to gauge which direction.

The NDX has sunk back under its 50 day SMA as tech has been pretty stinky of late as it continue to inversely relate to crude. Just wondering if its time for a flip as the 2 day RSI sinks to buyable levels.

THE NEAR OPEN

Markets are trading mixed with some interesting beneath the surface action. The DJIA +9, NAZ+.5 and SPX +2.

Market internals are strong in light of the sluggish major indexes so maybe a hint of a little jig later in the day.

The SPX has over 310 winners while the OEX has about 65, so focus on the non NAZ IMVHO.

Overall, the NYSE is +825 and NAZ +275.

Strongest sectors include metals, emerging markets, internets, banks, oil service, utilities, brokers and retail.

Leading lower are gaming, semis, trannies, tech, biotech and large cap growth.

Strongest stocks include NVDA TLAB YHOO COST GOOG AVP EXC LTD AES and NOV.

Weakest are NSM TYC TXN HPQ EK DELL CSC AKAM ICAI and WYNN.

Volatility indexes are trading near the flat line but a look at the DJIA says something different. The recent range on the DJIA has again contracted to about 60 points so we are probably due for a wide ranging day as the 13 day SMA of the range is near 90. So just a heads up that we will probably swing a bit.

MORNING CALLS

Major market index futures are trading little changed while crude is up a buck just under the $60 handle. Foreign markets are higher and it should be an interesting Tuesday after an ultra dull Monday.

Other news:

NOV beats by $.29 as revenues rose 51%, JPM upgrades NVDA to overweight from neutral; TYC beats by a penny; EMR beats by a penny and issues in line guidance; NSM downgraded to hold from buy at C; JOE beats by $.09 and expects 2007 to look like 2006; ADBE initiated with outperform at CS;

Gapping up- NUAN CHINA ISE AVP GRP NVDA USO CSCO NOV OIH AVP PAAS SSRI

Gapping down- QSII CONN LVS NSM BP ARTG XRAY AMLN

Bill with some comments on the bears and track records that don't matter and John naming 15 stocks in big uptrends.

Kodak back in the news with another great idea.

Morningstar with some tips on Sector investing.

Everything you could possibly need to know about ETF's.

The weekly take from Jeff Saut of Raymond James.

Enough already, JUST DO IT.

New research report on AGN.

CLOSING NUMBERS

In one of more boring days in quite some time, the markets closed near where they started with the DJIA finishing +8, NAZ -5 and SPX -1.

There was some nice action in CTSH, an Indian BPO, which closed up $7 to the $93 area and was the biggest % winner on the NDX. Other big winners included AKAM AMLN RIMM KLAC WY HPQ DELL CSCO and NYT.

The biggest loser category included SLM STT SUN CC GOOG NBR VRTX FLEX MSFT and EP.

Strongest sectors included gaming (LVS earnings after the close), silver stuff, utilities, semis, defense, metals, emerging markets and large cap value- To the downside were airlines, homies, biotech, trannies, internets, small caps with small cap growth acting worst then value.

Market internals were slightly bearish with 370 net red on the NYSE and 440 net red on the NAZ.

The SPX had about 220 winners; while the NDX and OEX were pretty evenly split between winners and losers.

The brokers and the banks closed in the red with ICE being the sole broker/exchange that I follow that closed green. GS, which has been leading the rally from day one continues to act poorly while GOOG (-14) seems to also be getting hit with its share of selling.

Volatility indexes drifted up with the VXO +2% and VIX+5%. No buy signals but I am curious about tomorrow as I anticipate turn around Tuesday (lower).

TECH UPDATE

Markets continue to trade near the unchanged levels with outperformance from the gamers, silver, utilities and metals. Worst groups include GOOG, MSFT, biotech, software, trannies, small caps and brokers.

Also, some more news on BMY.

Market internals continue to trade slightly red with the NDX internals a bit better than the SPX or OEX.

Cramer out with another new tech call and this time:

"You want an untold story? How about the underperformance of tech, despite the endless attempts of people to try to flog the story as a major part of the bull market of 2007? In fact, it would be better to be in the homebuilders or the cyclicals; these are the fantastic performers of 2007. Same with the oils. I would take the steels over the semis any day of the week.

Check out the SOX and the Semiconductor HOLDRS (SMH) , the tech bellwethers. They peaked at the beginning of the year and haven't come near taking out their highs. Why is that? I would emphasize that we are right at the seasonal change of heart for tech and you aren't going to get the outperformance you are looking for from this group."

Notice anything different about this call? Yes, of course, no mention of owning GOOG MSFT CSCO and AAPL. Those four have been pretty crummy performers of late so lets just forget I said anything about them.

LOWER OPEN

Markets open lower with the DJIA -19, SPX -4 and NAZ-8 while Crude is up another % as the cold temps finally hit the Northeast (12 degrees here).

Sector winners include gaming, oil service, silver stocks, semis, metals and the dollar. Leading lower are biotechs, airlines, trannies, homies, brokers, internets, software, drugs and finanicials.

Notable losers include GOOG BBH MER MSFT (a 2 handle) and IAI. The action in the brokers has been unsettling of late as they are no longer leading when the markets have traded higher and the interday charts on the BKX and XBD this morning is straight down.

The internals are weak with the SPX showing about 150 gainers; the NDX and OEX each with about 30 green.

Overall internals are red 650 on both the NYSE and the NAZ.

Higher big caps include DELL WY F BA WMT CTSH PTEN WFMI KLAC CNX and NTRS. Big losers are STT CTX DJO DHI CCL PHM ERTS VRTX EXPD FAST GOOG and ISRG.

Volatility indexes are higher with the VIX/VXO tandem up a post weekend drip of 6%.

COLLECTOR'S ITEM?

Futures are trading slightly lower this AM with some interesting news on the wire:

Carl Icahn group proposes to Buy LEA at $36; STT to Buy IFIN for $4.5B; Credit Suisse upgrades DELL; UBS initiates SWN with a Buy; GS upgrades BP to Buy; CTSH beats by 3 cents, revenues rose 65% to $424M vs $408 consensus and sees EPS of $.47 vs $.45 and revenue of $448 vs 433 consensus; HOG dissed by the WSJ; Barrons sees downside greater than upside for MSFT; Wachovia cuts estimates for PSUN GPS and ANN; RBC raises target for AVB to $165 from $148; CIBC raises target for CVX to $82 from $73; JEF upgrades MXIM to Buy and $38 target; GS raises estimates for ICE;

Gapping up- IFIN MLS ANAD CLWT SIFY CTSH CROX RMBS;

Gapping down- CBRX NOVL IFX RACK GFI MRVL;