6 gut checks pre open

Need to Know AUGUST 27, 2013 6 gut checks before the stock market's opening bell By Shawn Langlois   Getty Images Investors have enough gnawing away at their conviction without the unraveling mess in Syria. The numbers from the latest sentiment survey don't lie. The bear count is rising. Contrarian signal, as we mentioned yesterday? Could be, sure. But throw potential missile strikes on top of tapering on top of margin debt on top of rising yields, and you have one nasty tower of uncertainty. And let's not even get into the approaching debt ceiling . Despite the swirling winds, market swings have been mild of late. We've only had 24 days of S&P moves of more than 1% in either direction this year. The annual average over the past 13 years is 80 of those kinds of days. Read why Robert Seawright says the trade that hurts the most people is the market continuing its move upward. One guy who's not sticking around to find out (at J.C. Penney, anyway) is Bill Ackman (more on him below). Investors, in general, look like they've seen enough from the market this week, too. Stocks are down just about everywhere you look. Maybe nothing left to do but hold your head in your hands if you're a broker . Key market gauges: Oil futures  are soaring , as concerns mount over Syria and the upcoming supply data. Gold is also going through the roof. Asia  stocks fell across the board, while European markets  are off to a sluggish start. Futures on the Dow  and the S&P  aren't doing any better. The economy: The latest on house prices will come from the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite at 9 a.m. Eastern.  In May, the index rose 2.4%, with year-over-year growth of 12.2%. Also, consumer confidence may have dropped in August, with economists polled by MarketWatch expecting the index to fall to 78.0 from 80.3. The decline in the stock market is probably to blame. Read: Spotlight on the economy. Earnings: Bling-maker Tiffany & Co.  got a bump in premarket after hiking its earnings outlook and posting better-than-expected profit. The buzz: Netflix  has learned what the music industry has not , says... Kevin Spacey. This story currently sits atop the "hot" list on reddit. That troublemaker Ackman is in the spotlight again, as if he ever left. This time it's all about his exit from J.C. Penney . Facebook  shares are inching higher early and will definitely be much discussed throughout the day, after closing at their highest closing price since going public a year ago. Also a hot talking point: Sheryl Sandberg's recent sale . 3-D printers have found themselves trending again, after an upbeat Citi note gave the group a big push yesterday. 3D Systems  and Stratasys  had big days. Cimatron  is another one that posted a nice rally, and it's also the top-trending ticker on Market IQ. The chart of the day: StockTwits contributor UPB used this chart to illustrate his simple, technical stance on J.C. Penney. If the stock "holds the line @ $13," next stop is $25. If it "breaks down" from here, it's going bankrupt," he wrote. The call of the day: Warren Buffett once said, "We want to buy the companies when they are on the operating table." Well, Petrominerales certainly qualifies, havingh spiraled from $30 a share back in 2011 all the way down to around $6 today. If you want to hit it big, stat, a Seeking Alpha contributor who goes by "Value Digger" says this "screaming buy" has got to be on the radar. Read his thorough and convincing breakdown of this stock's bullish prospects . Random reads: Excess returns to the Hamptons. Sleep where Jay Z and Beyonce once laid their heads -- only $500,000 for two weeks . This is why some skeptics question the business case for electric cars -- $16,000 worth of chargers reap $13 in revenue in just over a year. Meanwhile, a guy who does believe in the business case is designing rocket parts by waving his hands around . Megaburgerpizza, of course. But hurry, offer ends in November . For when you just can't get enough GIFs . Everything's better with beer . Especially chess. In case you hadn't heard, cellphones are annoying . Need to Know starts early and is updated as needed until the opening bell, but sign up here  to get it delivered once to your e-mail box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The e-mailed version will be sent out at approximately 8:45 a.m. Eastern. Follow @slangwise  on Twitter. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: alanrussell@princetoncap.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2013 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. 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