Oil Prices, Home Resales, & Upgrades

Good morning. We are starting the final trading week of the 3rd quarter with a positive bias as oil prices fall below $60 and traders await the data on August home resales at 10:AM. Analyst upgrades in several blue chip stocks are helping lift the premarket futures in absence of any significant market-moving headlines this morning.

Stocks moving higher in premarket trading include ACOR, WARR, GPCB, PHRM, TWMC, EEEE, SPPI, CHRS, UAUA, BIDU, ACLS, LRCX, RYAAY, NSANY, NVDA, and RMBS. Stocks under pressure include MSCC, HEPH, FNET, APTM, SNDK, CELG, ERIC, and GOLD.

Like last week, any datapoint that places more emphasis on weakness in the overall economy will not be well-received though I think the news is out that the housing market is crummy. Overall earnings this quarter are expected to come in well above expectations and the lack of significant earnings warnings this week would go a long way to provide some measure of confidence that these expectations are justified.

Have a great Monday!