Futures are indicating a lower close for equities to end the week, and a big reason for that decline is the latest earnings report from Deere (DE).  In addition to missing EPS forecasts by 11 cents (3.52 vs 3.63), DE also lowered guidance.  The company summed up the factors affecting its impact with the statement that, “Ongoing concerns about export market access, near-term demand for commodities such as soybeans, and a delayed planting season in much of North America are causing farmers to become much more cautious about making major purchases.”  Trade and weather.

In other earnings news, Nvidia (NVDA) is trading modestly lower after initially seeing a very positive reaction to earnings in after-hours trading on Thursday, while Applied Materials (AMAT) is trading higher after a strong report.  Finally, Pinterest (PINS) is down over 17% in the pre-market after reporting a wider than expected loss and lowering guidance in its first earnings report as a public company.  Rule #1 for IPOs, for at least your first earnings report as a public company, it’s a good idea to manage street expectations well enough so that you don’t come in weaker.

We’ve just published today’s Morning Lineup featuring all the news and market indicators you need to know ahead of the trading day.

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The term ‘stock-picker’s market’ has become a bit of a cliche in stock market conversation, but looking at where sectors are currently trading relative to their trading ranges shows that the term is especially applicable right now.  While the S&P 500 is essentially right at its 50-day moving average, sectors are pretty much evenly split between trading above and below that level.  At the extremes, Consumer Staples is the only overbought sector while Energy is the lone sector in oversold territory.

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