Morning Pre-Game: Thursday 05/18/2006

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Resources:
Week Ahead Outlook
Stock Group Lists

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Economic Data:
8:30 AM   Initial Claims   
10:00 AM Leading Indicators
12:00 PM Philadelphia Fed

Earnings Today Link

Futures:
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.0. 

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.0.  Still shaping up for stocks to regain some upside traction following Wednesday's CPI-induced drubbing. While blue chips will be in focus after Home Depot (HD) expanded its stock buyback program by $2 bln, most of the early buying efforts appear centered around the Nasdaq, which is coming off its longest losing streak in five years (7 straight days) and slipped into negative territory for the year yesterday.

08:32 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +0.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.5.  Futures indications now suggest a slightly higher open for the S&P 500 and strong start for the Nasdaq, but one shouldn't read too much into early gains as they will simply be the result of reflexive buying action. A dearth of compelling news on the corporate front, with only a handful of retailers out with earnings, is offering little conviction behind a potential rebound. Separately, initial claims rose 42K to 367K, well above the consensus of 318K, but the reaction in stocks has been relatively muted while bonds have gotten a bit of a lift, knocking the yield on the 10-yr note down to 5.13%. http://finance.yahoo.com/mo

Gap List: