Are Earnings Estimates Still Too High?

Good morning. Negative sentiment continues after Wal-Mart surprisingly lowered its fourth quarter outlook. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell a better than expected 24,000 to 467,000 and the Monster's Employment Index dropped 12 points to 131.

Premarket gainers: SWIM, SHLD, ANDS, CRXL, EMC, TRW, UNM, ISYS, ODP, CPN, LWSN, RBN, WTM, ARO, BLUD, URBN, GME, ANDS, RBN, GOLD, ONNN, RBS, HOTT, & SYT.

Premarket losers: ISRG, PMTC, SAY, WMT, AMTD, JCG, IFX, ICO, CHS, MTW, SONC, EGLE, JAVA, ACAS, SOLF, MICC, DRYS, YHOO, CELG, COST, FSLR, SRG, RTP, WDFC, ANF, M, NAT, & CAH.

Following Wal-Mart, the concern is that earnings estimates are still too high going into another earnings season and we'll need to see some reports that counteract that fear. The news is expected to be bad, but there has been hope that estimates have been taken down enough that it won't matter, which is why how investors react to Wal-mart and others who lower guidance is important to watch.

For today, the main focus will remain on positioning ahead of tomorrow's jobs report and whether we can hold up under more pressure. In addition, Obama is scheduled to speak about the economy at 11:AM.

Go make a great day!