Earnings have taken center stage once again this morning.  Coke (KO) posted an earnings beat as well as Northrop Grumman (NOC), which raised guidance for the rest of the year.

Most names reporting this morning have beaten on the top and bottom lines, but a lot of stocks, even of companies that increased guidance, are indicating to open slightly lower.  I wouldn’t fret about that too much.  Let the dust settle and resist the urge to follow the herd and sell on good news and better guidance.   Note: Also make sure you don’t get whipsawed. I’ve already seen several stocks go from negative to positive as conference calls roll on.

On the other hand, the market is loving results from Boeing (one of my original never sell stocks…we sold it LOL), which is driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher.

Boeing (BA)

• Revenue $22.7 Billion
• Deliveries 226 aircraft
• Operating Margins Commercial 15.7 from (5.6)
• Operating Margins Defense 12.9 from 8.3
• Backlog $482 billion
• Net Orders to Backlog (quarter) $27 billion

Meanwhile, on the topic of transportation, I love the action in truckers yesterday.  Of course, I’m always rooting for truckers, which is a great proxy for the US economy.  (I have a long idea in the space this morning.)

While earnings are stirring the pot this morning, the ultimate mover of this market could come from the oil patch.  Last night, the API petroleum inventory release saw a 10.2-million-barrel decline in inventories and that pushed crude prices even higher.  This is the best rally in crude in a long time, so today’s report from Energy Information Agency EIA is crucial.  Crude above $50.00 will help not hurt the overall economy as America keeps moving toward the promise of real energy and security independence.

I’m also watching steel prices, as steel stocks have made a major move this week.  I’ve written about this topic a lot lately, and everyone should have some exposure.

You have to be invested in this market, but for those coming off the sidelines, it’s a conundrum on getting started now…call us at 800-286-1145 for my free report on Investing Now.