Initial Jobless Claims came out at 390,000 in the latest week still above the 350,000 recessionary threshold. The Trade Deficit came in at $43.11 billion in September. Import Prices were down 0.6% in October but up 11.0% year over year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher to 11,928.56 staying below its 200-day simple moving average at 11,975. The Dow traded as low as 11,779.88 before rebounding to 11,961.14 in afternoon trading. The NASDAQ stayed below its 200-day simple moving average at 2688 trading down from 2652.40 to 2601.79 then consolidated that range.

Asian stocks took it on the chin on Thursday following U.S. equities weakness. The Nikkei 225 slumped 2.91% to 8,501 with the Hang Seng plunging 5.25% to 18,964. European stocks mixed on Thursday on stabilization following an Italian bond auction. The FTSE 100 fell by 0.41% to 5,438 with the DAX up 0.66% to 5,868 and the CAC 40 down 0.34% to 3,065. The US Treasury 10-Year yield declined to 1.967 percent then rose to 2.061 pre-auction still influenced by its 50-day simple moving average at 2.038. The US Treasury auctioned $16 billion 30-Year bonds at 3.199 percent with a modest 2.40 bid to cover. Yields rose slightly after this auction with the 10-Year yield rising to 2.108 before consolidating within the day’s range. Gold traded down to $1755.0 the Troy ounce then rebounded to $1776.9 before declining to $1736.6. Crude oil declined to $95.20 holding its 200-day simple moving average at $95.05 then rebounded to $98.35. The euro versus the dollar stayed below its 50-day simple moving average at 1.3725 trading between 1.3488 and 1.3651.

Energy

CGGVeritas (CGV) is boosted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays. Concho Resources (CXO) is cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. SandRidge Energy (SD) is downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman. In afternoon trading: Shares of Frontline (FRO) are up about 12.5%. Shares of Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) are up about 11%. Shares of ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG) are down about 12%.

Materials

Mitsubishi (MSBHY) has paid $5.39B for a 24.5% stake in Anglo American’s (AAUKY) Chilean copper unit. Eastman Chemical (EMN) is begun with a Buy rating and $56 price objective at Ticonderoga. Ashland (ASH) is now Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. Pan Am Silver (PAAS) is reduced to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity and to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James. In afternoon trading: Shares of Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) are down about 22%.

Industrials

Mitsubishi (MSBHY) has paid $5.39B for a 24.5% stake in Anglo American’s (AAUKY) Chilean copper unit. Siemens (SI) reported FQ4 net profit €1.17B versus €467M loss a year ago, when it had a €1B charge. American Superconductor (AMSC) reported FQ2 revenue of $20.8M and EPS of -$0.44 (beating consensus by $2.3M and $0.12, and guided for Q3 revenue of just $15M (versus $22.5M consensus). Aegean Marine Petroleum (ANW) is upgraded to Buy from Hold with a $9 objective at Dahlman Rose. Siemens AG (SI) is lowered to Neutral from Add at WestLB. A123 Systems (AONE) is lowered to Hold from Buy at brokers Craig Hallum. In afternoon trading: Shares of Quad Graphics (QUAD) are down about 22.5%. Shares of EnerSys (ENS) are up about 20%.

Consumer Discretionary

Viacom (VIA.B) beat estimates by 4 cents and revenue by $300M. Kohl’s (KSS) beat estimates by a penny with revenue in-line with estimates. Advance Auto Parts (AAP) beat estimates by 24 cents and revenue by $10M. 99 Cents Only Stores (NDN) missed estimates by a penny, while beating revenue by $4M. CarMax (KMX) is a new Buy and $36 target price at Stifel Nicolaus. Visteon (VC) is initiated with an Equal Weight by Barclays. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is upgraded to Hold from Sell at Miller Tabak with a new target of $286. General Motors (GM) gets pulled from Citigroup’s list of Top Picks Live. Wendy’s (WEN) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Advance Auto Parts (AAP) is now Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. Maidenform Brands (MFB) is moved to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. In afternoon trading: Shares of Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL) are down about 12.25%.

Consumer Staples

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) FQ4 EPS climbed steeply to $0.47 and revenue increased 96% to $711M, but the results came in below analyst forecasts. The company sees FQ1 EPS (ex-items from acquisition and legal expense from SEC inquiry) coming in at $0.35-$0.40 (versus $0.35). Kellogg (K) is lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. In afternoon trading: Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are down about 40%. Shares of Coffee Holding (JVA) are down about 20%. Shares of PriceSmart (PSMT) are down about 10%.

Healthcare

Medivation (MDVN) beat estimates by 3 cents and revenue by $1M. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is lifted to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley. DynaVox (DVOX) gets upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray. Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT) is downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities. In afternoon trading: Shares of DynaVox are up about 24.25%. Shares of Olympus (OCPNY) are down about 13.5%.

Financials

Credit Agricole (CRARY) reported Q3 net profit -65% to €258M versus forecast of €552M. MBIA (MBI) reported net income per share of $2.26. In afternoon trading: Shares of FXCM Inc. (FXCM) are down about 14%. Shares of Radian Group (RDN) are down about 10.5%. Shares of Cedar Realty Trust (CDR) are down about 10.5%. Actives: Shares of Bank of America (BAC) are down about 1.6%. Shares of Citigroup (C) are down about 0.6%. Shares of Chimera Investment Corp. (CIM) are down about 5.5%.

Information Technology

Cisco (CSCO) is showing evidence that its overhaul is working as FQ1 earnings exceeded Street forecasts, with EPS rising to $0.43 from $0.34 a year earlier (beating estimates by 4 cents) and revenues increasing 5% to $11.26B (beating by $240M). Cisco also gave FQ2 guidance that was largely above consensus. Opnet (OPNT) reported FQ2 EPS of $0.24 (in-line), while missing revenue by $1.1M. Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD) beat estimates by 16 cents and revenue by $7M. Pegasystems (PEGA) missed estimates by 16 cents and revenue by $15M. STEC Inc (STEC) is a new Buy at Lazard. Cisco Systems (CSCO) is boosted by Deutsche Bank (Buy from Hold), Citigroup (Buy from Neutral), and Raymond James (Outperform from Market Perform). Computer Sciences (CSC) is cut to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan. In afternoon trading: Shares of OPNET Technologies are down about 22%. Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) are down about 21.5%.

Telecommunications Services

In afternoon trading: Shares of Alaska Communications Systems (ALSK) are down about 5.5%. Shares of Leap Wireless (LEAP) are up about 5.5%. Actives: Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are up about 4.75%. Shares of AT&T (T) are up about 0.8%. Shares of Frontier Communications (FTR) are down about 0.7%. Shares of Verizon (VZ) are up about 1.3%. Shares of Vodafone (VOD) are up about 1.5%. Shares of Windstream (WIN) are up about a half of a percent.

Utilities

PG&E Corp (PCG) is now Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse. In afternoon trading: Shares of Dynegy (DYN) are down about 10.5%. Actives: Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are up about 0.7%. Shares of CenterPoint Energy (CNP) are down about 0.9%. Shares of Genon Energy (GEN) are down about 3.25%. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are down about 1.1%. Shares of AES Corp. (AES) are up about 0.4%.

STOCKS: CGV, CXO, SD, FRO, OSG, ATPG, MSBHY, AAUKY, EMN, ASH, PAAS, SSRI, SI, AMSC, ANW, AONE, QUAD, ENS, VIA.B, KSS, AAP, NDN, KMX, VC, CMG, GM, WEN, AAP, MFB, MPEL, GMCR, K, JVA, PSMT, MDVN, VRTX, DVOX, SVNT, OCPNY, CRARY, MBI, FXCM, RDN, CDR, BAC, C, CIM, CSCO, OPNT, SPRD, PEGA, STEC, CSC, PEGA, ALSK, LEAP, S, T, FTR, VZ, VOD, WIN, PCG, DY, DUK, CNP, GEN, EXC, AES