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| | US Market | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with sentiment suggesting nervousness despite the release of a report showing an unexpected decline in jobless claims. Final fourth quarter GDP estimates released by the government showed an upward revision to the preliminary estimate, roughly in line with estimates. With the pending home sales due shortly after the markets open, traders may remain wary, especially as geopolitical and economic uncertainties continue to weigh in the minds of traders.
U.S. stocks turned lower on Wednesday, as economic and geopolitical uncertainties created indecision in the minds of traders. The major averages opened higher but declined steadily before dropping below the unchanged line in mid-day trading. The indexes continued their descent in the afternoon and closed notably lower for the session.
The Dow Industrials ended down 98.89 points or 0.60 percent at 16,269 and the S&P 500 Index closed 113.06 points or 0.70 percent lower at 1,853, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 4,174, down 60.69 points or 1.43 percent.
Twenty-six of the thirty Dow components closed lower, with JP Morgan Chase , Visa (V), Microsoft , IBM , Disney , DuPont and American Express leading the declines. On the other hand, Merck and Pfizer posted strong gains.
Transportation, biotechnology, gold, basic material, Oil service, retail, housing, semiconductor, computer hardware and financial stocks were among the worst decliners of the session.
On the economic front, durable goods orders rose 2.2 percent month-over-month in February, with much of the upside coming from transportation orders. Orders, excluding transportation, were up just 0.2 percent. Orders for computer/electronics rose slightly, while orders for machinery and electrical equipment declined. Shipments of non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft, were up 0.5 percent, but orders for this category of goods declined 1.3 percent.
The Dow Industrials broke below its 21-day MA (currently at 16,297) yesterday and will be constrained by this level in today's session. However, if the index picks up enough momentum to break above that level, it could target additional resistance around the 16,331, 16,373, 16,430 and 16,481 levels. On the downside, the index has support around 16,223, 16,171, its 50-day MA (currently at 16,126) and its 100-day MA (currently at 16,087). |
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| | US Economic Reports |  | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended March 22nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 311,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 321,000. The drop surprised economists, who had been expecting jobless claims to edge up to 323,000 from the 320,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Commerce Department released a report showing stronger than previously estimated U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, the pace of growth still fell short of economists' expectations.
The Commerce Department said GDP growth in the fourth quarter was upwardly revised to 2.6 percent from the previous estimate of 2.4 percent. Economists had been expecting GDP to increase by about 2.7 percent.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Sandra Pianalto will also speak to the RISE student conference at the University of Dayton at 8:30 am ET.
The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in February at 10 am ET.
In January, pending home sales edged up 0.1 percent month-over-month, with weather expected to have hurt sales. On a year-over-year basis, the index was down 9 percent. Pending home sales in the Northeast and South increased month-over-month, while sales fell in the Midwest and West.
At 11 am ET, the Kansas City Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its manufacturing index for the region. The consensus estimate calls for an increase in the index to 5 in March from 4 in February.
The Treasury Department will release the results of its auction of 7-year notes at 1 pm 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 | | | Paychex reported third quarter earnings of 44 cents per share, up 10 percent year-over-year. The company's revenues rose 7 percent to $636.5 million, with total service revenue at $626 million. The results were ahead of expectations. For 2014, the company expects net income growth of 9-10 percent and total service revenue growth of 5-6 percent.
H.B. Fuller reported first quarter adjusted earnings of 49 cents per share on revenues of $486 million, up 1.3 percent. The results trailed expectations. The company maintained its 2014 guidance, which is in line with estimates.
Fred's reported fourth quarter results that missed estimates.
Financial stocks could be in focus following the conclusion of The Federal Reserve's 2014 comprehensive capital analysis and review. The Fed rejected Citigroup's (C) capital plans and raised questions regarding the overall reliability of its capital planning process.
Accenture reported second results that missed Wall Street projections. Citing the outstanding year-to-date bookings as well as the activity and client interest seen in the marketplace, Accenture raised its outlook for fiscal 2014.
Baxter (BAX) announced that it plans to create two separate, independent global healthcare companies -- one focused on developing and marketing biopharmaceuticals and the other on life-saving medical products.
Merck announced that it has appointed Robert Davis as its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 23, 2014. Davis, who will also oversee corporate strategy and corporate business development, will succeed Peter Kellogg.
Oxford Industries , Progress Software and Red Hat are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
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| | European Market | | European stocks opened lower amid some profit taking following two sessions of gains. The averages have seen further downside since then.
In corporate news, Thomas Cook said trading conditions have been encouraging and that bookings for the summer season have shown an improving trend.
Swedish retailer H&M reported first quarter profits that trailed estimates by most analysts even as sales climbed 12 percent.
On the economic front, a report released by French statistical office INSEE showed that its French consumer confidence index unexpectedly rose to 88 in March from 85 in February. Economists had expected no change in confidence levels. A separate report released by the U.K. Office for National Statistics showed that U.K. retail sales rose more than expected in February.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | The Asian markets closed on a mixed note, with the Australian, Chinese and Hong Kong markets retreating, while the rest of the major markets in the region advanced.
Optimism concerning growth was muted by the negative lead from Wall Street overnight and the encircling uncertainties.
The Japanese market rallied, capitalizing on the yen's weakness. After trading below the unchanged line throughout the morning, the Nikkei 225 Index recovered in late afternoon trading. Thereafter, the index advanced before closing up 145.73 points or 1.01 percent at 14,623. Export stocks advanced, while defensive stocks came under selling pressure.
Meanwhile, Australia's All Ordinaries languished below the unchanged line throughout the session before closing down 27.50 points or 0.51 percent. Most sectors declined, although energy stocks gained ground. Material and healthcare stocks were the worst hit.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 21,835, down 53.30 points or 0.24 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 17.08 points or 0.83 percent before closing at 2,047.
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude Oil futures are climbing $0.08 to $101.14 a barrel after jumping $1.07 to $100.26 a barrel on Wednesday.
The previous session's gains came amid the release of the petroleum status report, which showed that Crude oil stockpiles rose by 6.6 million barrels to 382.5 million barrels in the week ended March 21st. Inventories were near the upper half of the average range.
Distillate stockpiles climbed by 1.6 million barrels yet were near the lower limit of the average range. On the other hand, Gasoline inventories declined by 5.1 million barrels and were in the lower limit of the average range.
Refinery capacity utilization averaged 86.2 percent over the four weeks ended March 21st compared to 86.7 percent over the four weeks ended March 14th.
Gold futures, which slid $8 to $1,303.40 in the previous session, are currently falling $5.50 to $1,297.90 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 102.25 yen compared to the 102.04 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3764 compared to yesterday's $1.3781. |
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