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| | US Market | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Wednesday, with sentiment reflecting optimism that government and central banks will stand ready to support even if the global economic momentum slows. The economic recovery is still fraught with risks, with the potential impact of economic sanctions against Russia likely to serve as a setback to the fragile economic momentum.
An economic report released earlier in the day showed that durable goods orders rose more than expected, allaying concerns about slowing growth. Across the Atlantic, a private sector report showed that German consumer sentiment remains strong despite the encircling uncertainties. Against this backdrop, the markets may strive to retain their recent momentum.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday amid the release of some mostly positive economic data. The major averages opened higher after separate reports showed that home prices rose by more than expected but new home sales dropped. After trading on a positive note in early trading, the averages declined steadily until the mid-session, with the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index falling below the unchanged. Nevertheless, the averages staged a recovery in the afternoon before closing higher.
The Dow Industrials ended up 91.19 points or 0.56 percent at 16,368 and the S&P 500 Index closed 8.18 points or 0.44 percent higher at 1,866, while the Nasdaq Composite Index ended at 4,234, up 7.88 points or 0.19 percent. Twenty-one of the thirty Dow components closed higher, with Cisco Systems leading the gains with a 3.57 percent rally. IBM , Johnson & Johnson and Merck also rose notably. On the other hand, Nike and Visa moved sharply to the downside.
Computer hardware, Oil service and airline were among the best performers of the session.
On the economic front, the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose to 82.3 in March from 78.3 in February, reaching the highest level since January 2008. The expectations index rose by 7 points, while the present situation index edged down by 0.6 points.
A report released by The Commerce Department showed that new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 in February, while the January reading was downwardly revised by 13,000. Inventories of new homes in terms of months of supply rose to 5.2 months from 5 months, while the median price of a new home fell 1.2 percent year-over-year, marking the first drop since June 2012.
The Dow Industrials broke above its 21-day MA currently at 16,292 following yesterday's advance. The next upside target level for the index is at 16,414, and further upward, the 16,461 and 16,523 levels may also serve as resistance levels. On the downside, the index has support at 16,331, its 21-day MA, 16,202, its 50-day MA currently at 16,126 and 100-day MA currently at 16,081. |
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| | US Economic Reports |  | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | With orders for transportation equipment showing a substantial rebound, The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose by more than expected in February.
The report said durable goods orders surged up by 2.2 percent in February following a revised 1.3 percent decrease in January. Economists had expected orders to increase by about 1.0 percent compared to the 1.0 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month.
However, when excluding the jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders inched up by just 0.2 percent in February after rising by a revised 0.9 percent in January. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to edge up by 0.3 percent compared to the 1.1 percent increase originally reported for January.
Markit is due to release the results of its U.S. service sector survey at 9:45 am ET.
The Energy Information Administration will release its regularly scheduled weekly petroleum status report for the week ended March 21st at 10:30 am ET. Crude Oil stockpiles rose by 5.9 million barrels to 375.9 million barrels in the week ended March 14th. Inventories were in the upper half of the average range for this time of the year.
On the other hand, Gasoline inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels but remained near the upper limit of the average range. Distillate stockpiles declined by 3.1 million barrels and were below the lower limit of the average range.
Refinery capacity utilization averaged 86.7 percent over the four weeks ended March 14th compared to 87 percent over the four weeks ended March 7th.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to release the results of its auction of 5-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 | | | Facebook announced an agreement to buy virtual reality technology company Oculus VR for $2 billion, including $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook stock. The agreement also provides for an additional $300 million earn out in cash and stock on the achievement of certain milestones.
PVH reported fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings of $1.43 per share on revenues of $2.052 billion, up 25 percent year-over-year. The earnings exceeded estimates, while the revenues were shy of estimates. For 2014, the company expects non-GAAP earnings of $7.40-$7.50 per share on revenues of $8.5 billion, up 3 percent. The company also forecast first quarter non-GAAP earnings of $1.45-$1.50 per share on revenues of $2 billion. The guidance was lackluster.
Panera Bread reaffirmed its 2014 earnings guidance of $6.80-$7.05 per share and first quarter earnings guidance of $1.49-$1.55 per share ahead of its Investor Day presentations. The guidance was in line. The company also said it continues to expect company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales growth of 2-4 percent and positive transaction growth in 2014.
Steelcase reported better than expected fourth quarter results. The company's first quarter earnings guidance was in line, while its revenue guidance was above estimates.
Actavis and Valeant Pharma announced that the FDA has approved the NDA for Metronidazole 1.3 percent Vaginal Gel, an antibiotic for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. Actavis acquired rights to the treatment from Valeant in April 2013 for up to $57 million in upfront payments, milestone payments and certain guaranteed royalty payments during the first three years of commercialization.
International Gaming Technology announced actions, including the elimination of 7 percent of its workforce, to re-align its cost structure in order to boost earnings. The company expects to realize $30 million in cost savings in the current fiscal year and an estimated $50 million on an annual run-rate basis. The company also lowered its 2014 adjusted earnings guidance to $1.28-$1.38 per share, while it said it expects second quarter adjusted earnings of 17-19 cents per share. The guidance was below estimates. |
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| | European Market | | European stocks opened higher and have continued to gain ground since then.
On the economic front, the results of a survey by market research group GfK showed that German consumer confidence is set to remain stable in April. The forward-looking consumer confidence index is expected to remain unchanged at 8.5, in line with forecasts. The economic outlook indicator for March rose 1.3 points to 33.2, while the income expectations index dropped three points to 45.6.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Most Asian markets closed higher, encouraged by the positive close on Wall Street overnight, although the Chinese and New Zealand markets came under modest selling pressure.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average opened higher and saw further upside in early trading. However, the index gave back some of its gains by late morning trading but continued to hold above the unchanged line for much of the remainder of the session before closing up 53.97 points or 0.37 percent at 14,477.
Export stocks found some buying interest, with tech exporters seeing significant strength. On the other hand, retail, food, utilities and banking stocks moved to the downside.
Australia's All Ordinaries hovered in positive territory throughout the day, ending the session at 5,387, up 36.20 points or 0.68 percent. Most sectors saw modest to moderate strength, while IT, real estate and energy stocks saw slight weakness.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended at 21,888, up 155.43 points or 0.72 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 3.64 points or 0.18 percent lower at 2,064.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan reported that its corporate service price index for February rose 0.7 percent year-over-year. On a monthly basis, the index was up 0.3 percent. |
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude Oil futures are rising $0.53 to $99.72 a barrel after ending down $0.41 to $99.19 a barrel on Tuesday. An ounce of Gold is currently flat at $1,311.40. On Tuesday, Gold edged up $0.20.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is currently at 102.41 yen compared to the 101.90 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3790 compared to yesterday's $1.3826.
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