U.S. stocks come off two days of gains for November's first two trading days, as investors await Friday's delayed October jobs report. The S&P 500 has been up in 15 of the past 19 sessions, and is now up 24 percent for the year to date.
Today's lone economic report comes at 10 a.m. ET, when the Institute For Supply Management issues its monthly non-manufacturing index. The measure of the U.S. services economy is seen coming in at 54.0 for October, slightly lower than September's 54.4.
It's another busy day for corporate earnings, with this morning's list including AOL (AOL), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Charter Communications (CHTR), Cognizant Technology, CVS Caremark (CVS), DirecTV (DTV), Emerson Electric (EMR), Michael Kors (KORS), Mosaic (MOS), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), R.R. Donnelley (RRD), Red Robin (RRGB), and T-Mobile U.S. (TMUS).
21st Century Fox (FOXA) is among the companies issuing earnings after the closing bell, along with Tesla Motors (TSLA), Liberty Media Interactive (LINTA), Oneok (OKE), and QEP Resources (QEP).
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) is among our stocks to watch, posting third quarter earnings of $1.13 per share, excluding certain items, three cents below estimates, with revenue essentially in line. The miss comes despite record production of oil and natural gas for Anadarko.
CF Industries (CF) earned $3.89 per share, excluding certain items, for the third quarter, missing estimates by 11 cents. Revenue also fell below estimates as weak global fertilizer markets helped push down prices.
Marathon Oil (MRO) reported third quarter profit of 87 cents per share, excluding certain items, ten cents above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. Marathon was helped by a surge in oil and gas production.
LeapFrog (LF) beat estimates by five cents with third quarter profit of 37 cents per share. The toy maker's revenue was shy of estimates, however, as is its full year revenue and EPS forecast. Leapfrog cites a weak retail environment as well as fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Weatherford International (WFT) topped estimates by two cents with third quarter profit of 23 cents per share, excluding certain items. Revenue for the oilfield services company did fall short of forecasts, however, as business in North America slipped.
Hertz Global (HTZ) earned 73 cents per share for the third quarter, two cents above estimates, helped by good results at its Dollar Thrifty unit.
AIG (AIG) may sue Morgan Stanley (MS) over mortgage backed securities that it sponsored between 2005 and 2007.
Jamba (JMBA) reported third quarter profit of 15 cents per share, five cents below estimates, as same-store sales for the smoothie bar operator fell 3.4 percent from the same period a year ago. However, Jamba does see positive comparable store sales for 2014.