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| | US Market | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Thursday, with some of the early weakness indicated by the trading in U.S. index futures being mitigated by the jobless claims report, which showed a decline in claims roughly in line with estimates. Additionally, a private survey showed robust manufacturing activity in the U.S. Although deal news in the tech sector could offer some encouragement, Wal-Mart's lackluster results are likely to be a cause of concerns. Global cues aren't encouraging either. The markets could also search for cues from the results of a regional manufacturing report due after the markets open.
U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday, with stimulus reduction fears generating some weakness. The major averages opened lower but The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index managed to climb above the unchanged line in early trading, as traders digested weak housing starts data and mixed earnings reports. After holding above the unchanged line until the mid-session, the indexes gave back their gains and the weakness intensified following the release of the FOMC minutes, which relayed the Fed's resolve to continue trimming stimulus.
The Dow Industrials ended down 89.84 points or 0.56 percent at 16,041 and the S&P 500 Index closed 12.01 points or 0.65 percent at 1,829. Meanwhile, the Nadsaq Composite was found languishing below the unchanged line for much of the session before closing down 34.83 points or 0.82 percent at 4,238.
Twenty-four of the thirty Dow components closed lower, while the remaining six stocks advanced. Boeing , Home Depot , JP Morgan Chase, Merck and Pfizer were among the biggest losers of the session, while Verizon gained ground in the session.
Gold, financial, biotechnology, transportation, retail and housing stocks declined notably in the session.
On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that its producer price index for final demand and the core producer price index both rose 0.2 percent month-over-month. Good prices accounting for 34 percent of the total rose 0.4 percent and services price was up 0.1 percent. The annualized rates of producer prices and core producer prices were 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
The Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 16 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 in January, notably lower than the 950,000 rate expected by economists. Single-family starts slumped 15.9 percent. The previous month's starts were upwardly revised to 1.048 million from the 999,000 reported initially. Building permits considered an indicator of future housing activity fell 5.4 percent to 937,000, also trailing the 975,000 rate expected by economists. At the same time, building permits rose 2.4 percent year-over-year.
The Dow Industrials retreated below its 50-day MA (currently at 16,106) yesterday. Amid the release of more fundamental information, if the index rebounds, it could attempt to violate its 50-day MA to the upside and run up to another resistance around 16,124. The index also has resistance around the 16,217, 16,295 and 16,352 levels. On the downside, the index has support around 15,969, its 21-day MA (currently at 15,891), its 100-day MA (currently at 15,837) and 15,752.
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| | US Economic Reports |  | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Retail inflation remained in check in January, as new government statistics showed that consumer price growth slowed down from the previous month and matched economists' expectations.
The U.S. Labor Department revealed that consumer prices advanced 0.1 percent in January. This followed an increase of 0.2 percent in the previous month. Economists had expected the figure to rise 0.1 percent. The core reading was also up 0.1 percent.
Layoff activity moderated a bit last week, according to a new government statistics released Thursday. The U.S. Labor Department revealed that initial jobless claims fell 3,000 to 336,000 for the week ended February 15. This followed an unrevised reading of 339,000 in the previous week.
Markit's survey showed that its index of manufacturing activity for the U.S. rose to 56.7 in February from 53.7 in January, ahead of expectations for a reading of 53.5.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve is due to release the results of its manufacturing survey at 10 am ET. The general business conditions index for the region is expected to have slipped to 8 from 9.4 in January.
The manufacturing index rose to 9.4 in January from 6.4 in December. However, the inner details were mixed. The new orders fell 7.8 points to 5.1, the lowest level since May, and the order backlogs index was at -1 despite rising by 5.6 points. The inventories index slumped 35 points to -19.6 and the employment indexes were mixed, with the number of employees index rising 5.6 points to 10, while the average workweek index slipped 10 points to -5.3. The future business activity index fell 14 points to the lowest level since April.
The Conference Board will release its leading economic indicators index for January also at 10 am ET. The consensus estimates call for a 0.2 percent month-over-month increase in the index.
The leading economic indicators index for the U.S. rose 0.1 percent month-over-month in December following a 1 percent increase in November. The December reading was helped by positive contributions by the financial components, while consumer expectations for business conditions and residential construction continued to pose risks. The coincident economic indicators index rose 0.4 percent and the lagging economic indicators index was up 0.3 percent.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its petroleum status report for the week ended February 14th at 11 am ET.
Crude Oil stockpiles rose by 3.3 million barrels to 361.4 million barrels in the week ended February 7th. Inventories remained in the upper half of the average range for this time of the year.
Meanwhile, Gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.9 million barrels yet were well above the upper limit of the average range. Distillate inventories edged down by 0.7 million barrels and were well below the lower limit of the average range. Refinery capacity utilization averaged 87 percent over the four weeks ended February 7th compared to 87.7 percent over the four weeks ended January 31st.
The Treasury is set to make announcements concerning its auction of 2-year, 5-year and 7-year notes at 11 am ET.
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| | Stocks in Focus | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Facebook agreed to acquire WhatsApp, a cross-platform mobile messaging company, for aPPRoximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and aPPRoximately $12 billion in stock.
Wal-Mart Stores' earnings declined from the year-ago quarter. The company forecast first-quarter and fiscal 2015 earnings per share below analysts' expectations. Separately, the retailer also announced that it is significantly accelerating its capital plan for U.S. small store format openings for the current fiscal year.
Marriott International reported fourth quarter earnings of 49 cents per share on revenues of $3.2 billion. For the first quarter, the company expects comparable system wide calendar REVPAR growth of 4-6 percent on a constant currency basis worldwide and earnings of 47-52 cents per share. The company also said it expects adjusted earnings of $2.29-$2.45 per share for the full year. The results trailed expectations, while the guidance was in line.
Avis Budget reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share on revenues of $1.8 billion, up 9 percent year-over-year. For 2014, the company expects adjusted earnings to rise by 11-30 percent on revenues of $8.3 billion to $8.5 billion. The results exceeded estimates and the guidance was in line.
Jack In the Box reported first quarter operating earnings of 75 cents per share on revenues of $338.83 million. For 2014, the company expects operating earnings from continuing operations of $2.20-$2.35 per share. The results exceeded estimates and the guidance was positive.
BJ's Restaurant reported fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings of 6 cents per share on revenues of $199.8 million, up 8.1 percent. The results were in line.
Safeway's fourth quarter earnings were ahead of expectations, while its revenues were slightly shy of estimates. The company's full year guidance was weak and also suggested that it is in discussions for a possible sale of the company.
Synopsys reported first quarter non-GAAP earnings of 59 cents per share on revenues of $479 million. The earnings beat estimates, while the revenues were below expectations. For the full year, the company expects non-GAAP earnings of $2.55-$2.60 per share on revenues of $2.03 billion to $2.065 billion. The earnings guidance was in line, while the revenue guidance was lackluster. Separately, the company announced a deal to buy software security tools maker Coverity for $375 million.
PPR announced an agreement to buy Aktiv Kapital, which acquires and services non-performing consumer loans in Europe and in Canada, for an enterprise value of $1.3 billion, including $435 million in corporate debt.
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare , Aruba Networks , Century Aluminum , Con Edison , Express Scripts , Groupon , Hewlett-Packard , Intuit , Marvell , Newmont Mining , Priceline.com and WebMD Health are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
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| | European Market | | European stocks have opened to the downside and are currently-trading lower amid fears of stimulus trimming in the U.S., slowing growth in China and lukewarm domestic earnings reports and economic data.
In corporate news, reinsurer Swiss Re reported a strong increase in its fourth quarter process, helped by lower loss ratio. The company also announced the appointment of David Cole as its CFO. Dutch insurer Aegon also reported higher fourth quarter underlying earnings. German engineering company Schneider Electric saw its 2013 top line shaved by currency fluctuations in the emerging market, although its profits rose modestly.
Danone's full year earnings were hurt by weak baby food sales. German chemical company Henkel reported a decline in its fourth quarter profits and sales, also hurt by currency swings. Air France-KLM reported a wider loss for its full year.
On the economic front, the German Federal Statistical Office reported that German producer prices fell 1.1 percent year-over-year in January, steeper than the 0.5 drop in December and the 0.8 percent decline expected by economists.
Preliminary results of Markit's surveys showed that the French private sector activity contracted at a faster rate in February. Even as German manufacturing activity expanded at a slower rate, service sector activity quickened.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Most Asian markets retreated, hurt by the negative cues from Wall Street overnight and some lackadaisical domestic data on the Chinese manufacturing sector and Japanese trade. Meanwhile, the Australian market bucked the downtrend with a modest upside.
The Japanese market wilted under the influence of a stronger yen. The Nikkei 225 average opened lower and declined steadily throughout the remainder of the session, ending down 317.35 points or 2.15 percent at 14,449. A majority of stocks retreated in the session, with OKUMA, Furukawa and Pacific Metals leading the slide.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,394, down 270.44 points or 1.19 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index ended 3.77 points or 0.18 percent lower at 2,139.
After holding mostly above the unchanged line, Australia's All Ordinaries retraced most of its gains and traded roughly sideways with a negative bias in the afternoon. The index moved decisively into positive territory in the final few minutes of trading and closed at 5,421, up 5.90 points or 0.11 percent. Most sectors advanced modestly, helping to offset the weakness in the energy and material spaces.
On the economic front, Markit/HSBC released the results of their manufacturing survey for China, which showed that manufacturing activity continued to contract at a faster rate in February. The manufacturing purchasing mangers' index dropped to 48.3 in February from 49.5 in January. Economists had expected the index to have remained unchanged at 49.5.
Japan's Ministry of Finance reported that the nation's trade deficit widened to 2.79 trillion yen in January from a deficit of 1.30 trillion yen reported for December. Economists estimated a narrower deficit of 2.49 trillion yen.
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets |
Crude Oil futures are receding $0.20 to $102.64 a barrel after rising $0.88 to $103.31 a barrel on Wednesday. Gold futures, which fell $4 to $1,320.40 an ounce in the previous session, are currently moving down $5.40 to $1,315 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 102.26 yen compared to the 102.31 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3714 compared to yesterday's $1.3733.
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