Early Stocks in Motion

Shares of Conexant Systems(CNXT Quote) surged Tuesday after Real Money's Jim Cramer named it his stock of the week on CNBC's "Mad Money" television program. Cramer, who cofounded the company that operates this Web site, said the communications chip maker could earn up to 40 cents a share next year, making it a relative bargain at Monday's closing price of $1.63. On Instinet, the shares were recently up almost 15% to $1.87.

Procter & Gamble(PG Quote) reaffirmed its earnings guidance of 75 cents to 76 cents a share for the first quarter. The consumer products giant said it expects sales growth toward the upper end of 6% to 8% for the quarter. The company cited its beauty and health businesses and developing markets for the strong sales growth. The segments' performance should offset the impact of Hurricane Katrina, which is expected to cut earnings by up to 2 cents a share. The stock was up 47 cents, or 0.85%, to $56.03 in after-hours trading.

MarketWest Energy(MWE Quote) signed separate agreements to acquire the Javelina gas processing and fractionation plant in Corpus Christi for a total of about $355 million. The enterprise is being purchased from its three owners, Kerr-McGee(KMG Quote), El Paso(EP Quote) and Valero(VLO Quote). The deals should close in the fourth quarter. ...