The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.57% today, now at 81.1800. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.7% at 626.86. WTI crude oil closed down 0.5% today, at $95.32 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 1% at $102.89 a barrel. Natural gas is down 2% today at about $3.73 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.1% today at $1,377.00.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 116 points to 15,122.02 (-0.76%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 37 points (-1.06%) to 3,436.95, and the S&P 500 fell -1.02% or nearly 17 points to 1,626.13.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated as ‘outperform’ with a $525 price target at Credit Suisse;
• The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) raised to ‘outperform’ at Macquarie;
• Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) cut to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity;
• Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) cut to ‘hold’ at Benchmark; and
• Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) raised to ‘market perform’ at BMO Capital.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

• Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is up 9.7% at $19.23;
• Majesco Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: COOL) is down 5% at $0.58;
• Pep Boys – Manny Moe and Jack (NYSE: PBY) is down 1.6% at $12.36; and
• LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is down 11% at $1.46.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is down 17.3% at $68.01. The maker of yoga clothing reported earnings after the close yesterday, and announced that the CEO is leaving.

Dole Food Company Inc. (NYSE: DOLE) is up about 22% at $12.44. The fruit and vegetable producer has received an offer from its CEO to go private for $12 a share.

Questor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) is up 14.8% at $42.10. The biopharmaceutical maker said this morning it will acquire a generic version of its Acthar Gel drug.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction
• 2:00 p.m. – Treasury budget

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.03% today, now at 81.6910. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.4% at 631.05. WTI crude oil closed down 0.2%, at $95.77 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.5% at $104.01 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $3.81 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.2% today at $1,386.00.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 10 points to 15,238.06 (-0.07%), the NASDAQ rose more than 4 points (0.13%) to 3,473.77, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,642.77.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

• CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVI) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $42 at Argus;
• Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) raised to ‘buy’ at Stifel Nicolaus;
• BHP Billiton PLC (NYSE: BHP) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; and
• Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) cut to ‘market perform’ at Oppenheimer.

There were no earnings reports of note since markets closed last Friday. Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND), Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU), Majesco Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: COOL), Pep Boys – Manny Moe and Jack (NYSE: PBY), and LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) is up 13.9% at $19.39. The biopharmaceuticals company saw shares rise nearly 21% last week, and the stock has posted a gain of nearly 1,200% in the past 52 weeks.

Dynavax Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: DVAX) is down about 42.9% at $1.41. The biotechnology stock was hit hard by an FDA statement that the agency could not confirm the safety of the company’s experimental hepatitis B vaccine.

Kandi Technologies Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KNDI) is up 38.8% at $7.85, after posting a new 52-week high of $8.29 earlier today. The China-based electric car maker’s stock continues its meteoric rise since last Tuesday, more than doubling the share price in the past five sessions.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:30 a.m. – National Federation of Independent Business optimism index
• 10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
• 1:30 p.m. – 3-year note auction

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.81% today, now at 81.752. The GSCI commodity index is down 2.3% at 608.83 (more commodities coverage here). WTI crude oil closed up 0.1% today, at $88.81 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 1% at $99.63 a barrel, its first dip below $100 a barrel since last July. Natural gas is up 0.9% today at about $4.16 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.9% today at $1,387.40 an ounce, following the yesterday’s drop of 9.3%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 157 points to 14,756.70 (1.08%), the NASDAQ rose more than 48 points (1.50%) to 3,264.63, and the S&P 500 rose 1.43% or more than 22 points to 1,574.56.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) started as ‘buy’ at UBS; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raised to ‘overweight’ at J.P. Morgan and reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $8 at Argus; First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) reiterated as ‘hold’ at Argus; Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) raised to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley; and American Electric Power Co. (NYSE: AEP) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is down 6.2% at $10.55; BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) is up 0.9% at $256.20; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) is up 2% at $34.83; Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is down 1.8% at $143.88 (more coverage here); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is up 2.2% at $83.47 after posting a new 52-week high of $83.54 earlier today (more coverage here); and The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is up 5.9% at $42.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $42.47 earlier today (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is up 6.1% at $15.27. The struggling retailer saw its shares rise on reports that it was looking at borrowing against its substantial real estate holdings and even other ways to raise cash based on the dirt underneath the stores.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down 5.3% at $18.74 after posting a second consecutive 52-week low of $18.66 earlier today. The gold mining company continues to be weighed down by the decline in gold prices. Other gold miners continue to suffer as well.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is up 3.8% at $46.60. The big bank’s positive earnings results yesterday, especially the improvement in its credit losses, gained more favor today.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Governor Jeremy Stein, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 2:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Beige Book

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.10% today, now at 82.387. The GSCI commodity index is down 1.3% at 623.16. WTI crude oil closed down 2.8% today, at $88.71 a barrel, its lowest level of the year. Brent crude trades down 2.6% at $100.45 a barrel. The crude market was exceptionally hard hit today (more coverage here). Natural gas is down 1.7% today at about $4.13 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 9.3% today at $1,361.10 an ounce, following the largest one-day drop in 30 years and the lowest settlement in more than 2 years..

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 201 points to 14,664.27 (-1.79%), the NASDAQ fell more than 78 points (-2.38%) to 3,216.49, and the S&P 500 fell -2.30% or more than 36 points to 1,552.38.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan; Gold Fields Inc. (NYSE: GFI) raised to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and Goldman Sachs GRoup Inc. (NYSE: GS) started as ‘market perform’ at KBW.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is up 0.7% at $45.10 (more coverage here); The Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) is down 3.9% at $16.61; and First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) is down 4.1% at $38.36.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY), BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Spring Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is up 13.9% at $7.08 after posting a new 52-week high of $7.33 earlier today. The wireless carrier received a $25.5 billion offer from Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) this morning, more than $5 billion more than the offer from Softbank now under consideration. More coverage here.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down 11.9% at $19.93 after posting a new 52-week low of $19.86 earlier today. The gold mining company — and virtually every mining company — was hit hard today by the collapse in gold prices. Barrick also fell 8.5% on Friday. More coverage here.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) is up 7.5% at $73.11 after posting a new 52-week high of $73.50 earlier today. The laboratory equipment maker is being acquired by Thermo Fisher Inc. (NYSE: TMO) for about $15.5 billion, including debt. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Fed Vice-chair Janet Yellen, Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke, and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
• 8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
• 9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week Treasury bill auctions

In the Equity and Income portfolio, Argus sells its position in Atlanta-based AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS). AGL is an energy services holding company that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee and Maryland. The company’’s Distribution Operations segment constructs, manages, and maintains intrastate natural gas pipelines and distribution facilities. The stock, which was cut to Underperform yesterday by Zacks, currently yields 4.60%.

Argus used the proceeds from the sale and other cash on hand to establish a position in office products giant Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS). The company offers various office supplies and services, office machines and related products, computers and related products, and office furniture under Staples, Quill and other proprietary brands. Staples pioneered the office superstore concept, and it has been a leading distributor since 1986. Trading considerably below the 52-week high of $16.93, Staples also offers a solid 3.42% dividend. The Wall St. consensus price target for the stock is $12.50.

In the Argus Growth and Income portfolio, the firm sells two of its holdings. The first is Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). Overall, Ford had its highest fourth-quarter pretax profit in more than a decade. On the negative side, Ford lost $732 million in Europe in the fourth quarter, and analysts are modeling continued losses in 2013. They expect European operations to begin to recover in 2014. Since inclusion in the Argus portfolio in December 2011, the Ford shares have appreciated more than 27% while providing an annual yield topping 3%.

Argus also sells medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX). Trading near a 52-week high, the company should continue to benefit from increased health care spending both in the United States and overseas, especially in emerging markets. But its guidance for 2013 was below expectations and it faces continued weak economic conditions in Europe. Since inclusion in the Argus portfolio in August 2010, the stock advanced 23% while providing an annual dividend yield exceeding 2%.

With the proceeds from the sales, Argus purchased shares of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), the world’s largest independent enterprise software company. Its annual revenues exceeded $37 billion, with about half coming from overseas. The analysts at Argus feel that, while the company is clearly an industry leader, its valuation metrics do not always reflect this leadership position. Oracle is trading below the peer average trailing EV/EBITDA multiple. Although the shares yield less than 1%, Oracle is growing its dividend faster than the market. The current Thomson/First call estimate for the tech giant is $37.73.

Argus also is buying Houston-based Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY). The company markets and distributes a wide range of food and related products, primarily to the food service or food-away-from-home industry. Overall revenues were bolstered by moderate food-cost inflation (up 2.2%), acquisitions and higher volumes. The analysts expect Sysco’s business transformation initiative to improve operating efficiency over the long term, and the shares provide an above-market yield of 3.5% at current prices. The current consensus price target estimate for the stock is $30.

In their Mid-Cap Growth portfolio, Argus sold two current holdings. Hologic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) develops and manufactures diagnostic and medical imaging systems, primarily serving the health care needs of women. Along with equipment and device sales, Hologic generates more than half its revenue from consumables and disposables. Since inclusion in the portfolio in January 2011, Hologic shares have appreciated approximately 18%.

Argus also sells its position in Gentherm Inc. (NASDAQ: THRM), which offers design, development and manufacture of heating, cooling and ventilating devices worldwide. The company’s principal product is its Climate Control Seat (CCS) system, which permits drivers and passengers to control the heating and cooling of their seats. Another good portfolio name, the shares have appreciated almost 19%.

For the Mid-Cap Growth portfolio, the analysts add Zimmer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZMH), the nation’s largest pure-play maker of orthopedic devices. The company designs, develops and manufactures reconstructive orthopedic implants, including joint, dental and spinal implants; trauma products; and related orthopedic surgical products. Argus recently upgraded the Zimmer shares to Buy, based on the belief that improving financial metrics, combined with higher surgical volumes at hospitals, will drive stronger sales and EPS growth in 2013. The consensus estimate for Zimmer is $76.50.

Also added to the portfolio is Pep Boys — Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY). The company provides automotive repair and maintenance services, tires, parts and accessories. It operates 740 stores and more than 7,200 service bays in 35 states and Puerto Rico. Although shares are trading in the lower half of their 52-week range, Pep Boys expects improved performance beginning in the fourth quarter, reflecting the impact of more-moderate gasoline prices, an increase in vehicle miles driven and a return to more-typical seasonal trends. The consensus price target for the stock is $11.

Portfolio management is not only picking the right stocks, it is the art of knowing when to sell winners and losers. Investors can note that Argus was willing to take quality gains and rotate the capital to stocks they felt had more upside, a strategy that always makes sense.

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.31% at 79.634. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.1% at 650.78, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.7% today, at $88.50 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 1% at $109.83 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.5% today at about $3.54 per thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down 1.5% today at $1,695.80 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 14 points to 12,951.70 (-0.11%), the NASDAQ down more than 5 points (-0.18%) to 2,996.69, and the S&P 500 fell -0.17% or more than 2 points to 1,407.04.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) reiterated as ‘sell’ at Argus; Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup; and Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) raised to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in several price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today: Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is down 12.6% at $9.33; Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is up 11.6% at $31.29 (more coverage here); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is down 3% at $366.83 (more coverage here); Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is up 0.5% at $32.59 (more coverage here); and Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is down 8.2% at $51.25.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MFRM), Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), and Francesca’s Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: FRAN).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 5.1% at $3.43. The mobile phone maker has reportedly signed a deal to distribute its Lumia 920 through China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: CHL).

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is down 10.5% at $30.88. The apparel retailer has confirmed that it will not pay a special dividend causing despair among many investors.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 15.7% at $87.93. The DVD rental and streaming media company has signed a new distribution deal with The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). More coverage here.

Net 1 Ueps Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: UEPS) is down 61% at $3.06 after posting a new all-time low of $3.01 earlier today. The electronic payments company has said it is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs report
• 10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
• 10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

The company’s CEO said:

While this past quarter’s sales results were lower than planned, they were not surprising to us. Regional sales discrepancies continued to challenge our results, however we began to see improvements in our more challenged regions late in the quarter.

AutoZone also announced this morning that it is acquiring online parts seller AutoAnything for an undisclosed amount.

Compare AutoZone’s results with those of competitor Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY), which reported quarterly results after markets closed last night. Pep Boys’ revenues totaled $509.6 million and the company posted a net loss of $0.13 per share. The consensus estimates had called for EPS of $0.15 on revenues of $527.8 million.

At AutoZone, same-store sales rose 0.2% in the quarter, while Pep Boys’ same-store sales fell 2.7%. AutoZone claims more than 5,000 stores worldwide to Pep Boy’s 720. Pep Boys has never recovered from its failed acquisition by Gores Group at $15 a share. When an acquirer would rather pay a $50 million breakup fee than complete an announced deal, that is not a good sign for the future.

Neither company benefits from the rise in new car sales. Parts dealers always do better when consumers fix up older vehicles instead of buying new ones. The state of the U.S. economy after the beginning of the new year will play a large role in how these stores perform in 2013.

Shares of AutoZone are down 1.6% in premarket trading this morning at $371.97, in a 52-week range of $313.11 to $399.10. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $421.00 before today’s results were announced.

Pep Boys shares are down 6.4% this morning, at $10.00 in a 52-week range of $8.31 to $15.46. The consensus target price for the stock was about $10.30 before last night’s results were announced.

Paul Ausick

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.35% at 79.875. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.1% at 650.05, with commodities prices mostly higher today on the weaker greenback. WTI crude oil closed up 0.2% today, at $89.09 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.4% at $110.79 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1.1% today at about $3.60 per thousand cubic feet. Gold settled up 0.5% today at $1,721.10 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 59 points to 12,966.14 (-0.46%), the NASDAQ fell about 8 points (-0.27%) to 3,002.20, and the S&P 500 fell -0.47% or nearly 7 points to 1,409.47.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut to ‘sell’ with a target price of $10 at Canaccord Genuity; Emulex Corp. (NYSE: ELX) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Qlogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) raised to ‘buy’ with a $13 target price at Goldman Sachs.

The only earnings report of note today came from LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LTD). Shares are down 10.3% at $1.05 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY), Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), and Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN)

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up 7.1% at $2.36. The chipmaker is still getting a bump from the sale/leaseback deal on its facility in Austin, and there’s talk that the company’s recent foray into the ARM processor business could lead to a sale of the company.

Cleantech Solutions International Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNT) is up 21.3% at $4.85. The component maker’s CEO and his wife have agreed to purchase 157,966 shares of the company’s stock at $3.88 a share.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down 9.8% at $2.22. The social networking game company lost two more executives today, and there’s still concern about the company’s future following the loosening of contract ties with Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB).

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:45 a.m. – ICSC-Goldman store sales
• 8:55 a.m. – Redbook
• 11:30 a.m. – 4-week Treasury bill auction

Paul Ausick

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) started as Perform at Oppenheimer.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) cut to Neutral at UBS.

Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) maintained Hold but raised 2012/2013 earnings estimates at Argus.

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) raised to Outperform from Neutral at Zacks.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank; Cut to Sell at Soc-Gen; Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) raised to Neutral at Nomura.

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan, but shares were cut to Neutral at Nomura just the day before.

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Vistaprint N.V. (NASDAQ: VPRT) raised to Sell from Strong Sell at S&P Capital IQ … Is that just “less of a sell but still a sell” rating?

Credit Suisse gave a model portfolio trade alert called “go long” on KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY). It said, “We look for 3Q12 and 4Q12 EPS to beat market expectations, and believe investors will increase EPS estimates for ’13/’14 in 2H12. We believe this will be driven by core efficiency ratio improvement in 2H12.”

JON C. OGG

The U.S. dollar index is higher today, now down 0.11% at 81.224. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.3% today at 672.55, with commodities prices mostly lower and corn falling below $8.00/bushel again. WTI crude oil closed up 0.1% today, at $95.36/barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.78% at $113.29/barrel. Natural gas is down 2.1% today to $2.793/thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,694.00/ounce, down 0.1% today.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 11 points to 13,047.55 (0.09%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 6 points (0.19%) to 3,069.27, and the S&P 500 fell -0.11% or nearly 2 points to 1,403.43.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo (more coverage here); Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as ‘equalweight’ at Barclays; and Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) started as ‘outperform’ at Bernstein.

Some companies that reported earnings since markets closed last night and have recent share price changes today include Bloomin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN) is up 3.4% at $13.91 after posting a new post-IPO high of $14.42 earlier today; Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) is up 1.3% at $13.70; Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is up 7.9% at $9.70; and Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is up 0.9% at $51.10 (more coverage here).

Earnings releases scheduled before markets open on Thursday morning include FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL), Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (NYSE: HWD), Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY), Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY), Layne Christensen Co. (NASDAQ: LAYN), and Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 15.9% at $2.38. The mobile phone maker introduced new products today with no pricing or shipping information. More coverage here.

Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is up 27.6% at $12.38 after posting a new 52-week high of $12.72 earlier today. The retailer got an analyst upgrade today and a revised turnaround plan from the recently hired CEO.

Francesca’s Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: FRAN) is down 17.2% at $29.88. The fast-fashion retailer reported good earnings after markets closed last night, but the CEO also announced his intention to retire.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Challenger job-cut report
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick