Level 3 Communications (LVLT) burst higher right out of the gate Thursday morning, as traders cheered the company's new streaming deal with Netflix (NFLX). Level 3 said it has been chosen as a primary content delivery network provider for Netflix, with the company providing support for streaming movies and TV shows. Additionally, Level 3 will store Netflix's entire streaming content library beginning Jan. 1.

This announcement confirms speculation that started swirling earlier in the week, when rumors hit Wall Street that Netflix was looking to ditch its content delivery deal with Akamai Technologies (AKAM). Shares of Akamai slipped about 3% Thursday morning, even though Netflix said earlier it would "continue to engage Akamai as part of our multivendor strategy."

Despite a lackluster day for the broader equities market, MGM Resorts International (MGM) has racked up a healthy gain of about 4% so far. Scanning the headlines, it seems that traders are responding to a bullish endorsement for the gaming guru from CNBC analyst Jim Cramer.

"Las Vegas is coming back," declared Jim Cramer on Friday's episode of Mad Money. He went on to add, "MGM's the best way to speculate on the turn, especially considering that they helped get Senate majority leader Harry Reid re-elected."

Online jewelry retailer Blue Nile (NILE) took the earnings stage Friday morning, with the company reporting a third-quarter profit of $2.8 million, or 19 cents per share -- up 7.7% from its year-ago results. Net sales for the quarter added 0.8% to $67.5 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for a third-quarter profit of 18 cents per share on $72.1 million in revenue.

For the current quarter, Blue Nile predicted a profit of 41 cents to 46 cents per share, with sales arriving between $106 million and $115 million. Analysts anticipate a fourth-quarter profit of 43 cents per share from Blue Nile.

Wall Street seems pleased by the latest earnings report from Liz Claiborne (LIZ), judging by the stock's 5% jump Thursday morning. Bright and early, Liz Claiborne reported a third-quarter loss of $62.7 million, or 67 cents per share, improved from its year-ago loss of $90.5 million, or 96 cents per share. Excluding items, Liz Claiborne swallowed a loss of 24 cents per share from continuing operations.

Net sales for the quarter declined 14% to $658.3 million -- but, excluding the impact of a shift to licensing models under a new deal with JCPenney (JCP), sales fell just 2.7%. Gross margin, meanwhile, expanded to 51.3% from 45.3%.

Now that Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, analysts at JPMorgan are taking a look at the election's potential impact on the stock market. In a research note this morning, JPMorgan cited alternative energy issue First Solar (FSLR) as one equity that could be damaged by the GOP's Congressional gains.

"Most of the downside is accounted for by the possibility of fiscally conservative measures, such as budget cuts and the reduction/elimination of certain subsidies," wrote JPMorgan in a note to clients.

After the close last night, Evergreen Solar (ESLR) announced that its third-quarter loss narrowed to $27.2 million, or 13 cents per share, from last year's deficit of $82.7 million, or 40 cents per share. Revenue for the period climbed to $86.5 million from $77.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Despite the year-over-year improvement, ESLR's quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were predicting a third-quarter loss of just 11 cents per share on $87.5 million in revenue.

Bunge Ltd. (BG) reported Thursday morning that its third-quarter profit dipped 8.6% due to charges, even as revenue for the period rose 2.9% year-over-year. The agribusiness baron raked in a profit of $212 million, or $1.36 per share, on revenue of $11.66 billion.

Excluding one-time items, BG's net income of $2.26 per share easily exceeded analysts' consensus estimate for a profit of $1.57 per share. However, the firm's quarterly revenue fell short of Wall Street's forecast for $12.48 billion.

Century Aluminum (CENX) took a dive right out of the gate Wednesday morning, as traders panned the commodity concern's third-quarter results. Tuesday night, CENX confessed to a quarterly loss of $16.8 million, or 18 cents per share, down substantially from its year-ago profit of $40.1 million, or 45 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed to $279.2 million, but CENX's bottom line was dented by a $12.2 million mark-to-market loss on forward contracts.

The aluminum issue managed to exceed analysts' consensus revenue forecast of $269.5 million, but the quarterly loss fell well short of Wall Street's prediction for a net profit of 8 cents per share.

Option volume has ramped up on Regions Financial (RF) today, with 14,000 contracts changing hands by midday -- more than double the equity's average daily volume. Calls are dominating most of the action, as no fewer than 12,000 of these bullishly oriented options have been exchanged.

Traders appear to be adding new positions at RF's out-of-the-money November 8 and December 8 call strikes, continuing a recent trend in the options pits. During the past 10 days, the International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that options players have bought to open 9.12 calls for every put on RF. This ratio arrives in the 94th percentile of its annual range, not far from an optimistic peak.

Domino's Pizza (DPZ) rallied about 5% right out of the gate Tuesday morning, as Wall Street cheered the food firm's latest earnings report.

For the third quarter, DPZ earned $16.6 million, or 27 cents per share, while revenue climbed 14.8% to $347.4 million. Both figures topped analysts' consensus estimates, which called for a profit of 25 cents per share on $335.9 million in revenue.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is scheduled to take its turn in the earnings confessional after Thursday's close, with analysts looking for a third-quarter profit of 6 cents per share on $1.67 billion in sales. AMD swallowed a loss of 18 cents per share in the year-ago quarter, leaving plenty of room for improvement.

The semiconductor company has a solid history on the earnings front, having surpassed analysts' per-share profit expectations in each of the past four quarters. However, traders don't seem convinced that AMD can manage another upside surprise.

Shares of MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) turned higher right out of the gate Thursday morning, surging roughly 4% with the sound of the opening bell. For the catalyst behind this bullish gap, we need look no further than peripatetic CNBC analyst Jim Cramer.

On Wednesday, the Mad Money host cited MEMC as his top pick within the solar sector. To back up his bullish opinion, Cramer cited three key factors: the recent $380 million sale of subsidiary SunEdison's Italian property, lowball earnings estimates from analysts, and heavy insider buying by company execs in recent months.

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) is slated to take its turn on the earnings stage tomorrow morning, with Wall Street expecting the sultan of snack foods to report a third-quarter profit of $1.22 per share -- up from $1.08 per share in the year-ago period. PEP has a solid history on the earnings front, having exceeded analysts' consensus profit expectations in three of the past four quarters.

However, speculative investors seem skittish ahead of the event. During the past 10 days, options traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 1.59 puts for every call on PEP. This ratio ranks higher than 84% of other such readings taken during the previous year, marking a near-peak of pessimistically slanted option volume on the exchange.

The U.S. stock market had its best September since 1939, as reported in the Financial Times. The S&P index gained 8.8%.

If we look around we'll find analysts on both sides of the market now. The market is at a crossroads, sitting right at resistance levels. If we break through this resistance, we could see it go higher.

The bulls are saying that this is the biggest opportunity in decades. The bears are in there selling, looking for a correction. The short index, as a percent of total shares, stands at for the S&P hit 4.61%, the highest since November 2009.

Office furniture maker Steelcase (SCS) spiked higher right out of the gate Thursday morning, as traders cheered the company's solid second-quarter earnings. Steelcase swung to a quarterly profit of $2.8 million, or 2 cents per share; excluding items, earnings arrived at $13 million, or 8 cents per share. Sales for the quarter rose 4% to $599.8 million.

The results topped Wall Street's expectations, as analysts had anticipated a profit of just 5 cents per share on revenue of $576.2 million. This marks the third consecutive quarter where Steelcase has exceeded analysts' consensus profit estimates.