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| | US Market |  | | Shanghai | Hang Seng | NIKKEI | ASX |  |  |  |  | | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Wednesday, with sentiment likely to remain guarded ahead of The Fed decision. Among the duo of economic reports released earlier in the day, first quarter GDP growth disappointed to the downside, while the private sector job growth exceeded expectations. With earnings also coming in mixed, traders may remain on the sidelines until The Fed announcement and decide their moves depending on the decision.
U.S. stocks advanced moderately on Tuesday, with positive earnings providing support to the markets. After opening higher, The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index moved roughly sideways throughout the session before closing higher. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite retreated in morning trading, briefly moving below the unchanged line before recovering and advancing till the afternoon. Thereafter, the index moved sideways before closing up 29.14 points or 0.72 percent at 4,104.
The Dow Industrials ended 86.63 points or 0.53 percent higher at 16,535 and the S&P 500 Index closed at 1,878, up 8.90 points or 0.48 percent.
Twenty of the thirty Dow components closed higher, with Merck rallying 3.60 percent and leading the gains. Travelers , Disney , JP Morgan Chase , McDonald's and Nike also advanced notably. On the other hand, Coca-Cola , Pfizer and Microsoft moved to the downside.
Biotechnology, airline, gold, basic material and financial stocks were among the best performers of the session.
On the economic front, the S&P/Case-Shiller house price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.76 percent month-over-month in February. Annually, prices were up an unadjusted 12.8 percent, with all 20 cities seeing price gains.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index fell to 82.3 in April from 83.9 in March, with the weakness stemming a less favorable assessment of current conditions. The present situation index slipped to 78.3 from 82.5, while the expectations index edged up 0.1 points to 84.9.
The Dow Industrials traded up to a resistance around 16,572 yesterday, although it closed shy of that level. If the FOMC statement and earnings are supportive of the rally, the index could reattempt to break above the level. Further upward, the index has resistance around 16,635. On the downside, the index has support around 16,503, 16,440, its 21-day MA (currently at 16,394), its 50-day MA (currently at 16,318) and its 100-day MA (currently at 16,207). |
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| | US Economic Reports | | | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | Private sector employment in the U.S. continued to show significant growth in the month of April, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP, with the pace of job growth exceeding economist estimates.
ADP said private sector employment surged up by 220,000 jobs in April following an upwardly revised jump of 209,000 jobs in March. Economists had expected an increase of about 210,000 jobs compared to the addition of 191,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Reflecting the impact of the severe winter weather, The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing only a modest uptick in U.S. economic activity in the first three months of 2014.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product inched up by just 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the 2.6 percent increase in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2013. While economists had anticipated a notable slowdown in the pace of GDP growth, they still expected an increase of about 1.2 percent.
A Labor Department report showed that the employment cost index rose 0.3 percent sequentially in the first quarter compared to 0.5 percent growth expected by economists.
The Treasury is due to make announcements concerning auctions of 3-year and 10-year notes and 30-year bonds at 8:30 am ET.
MNI Indicators is scheduled to release the results of its manufacturing survey for the Chicago region at 9:45 am ET. Economists expect the business barometer for the region to have risen 1 point to 56.9.
The Chicago business barometer declined 3.9 points to 55.9 in March. Economists had expected a more modest decrease by the index.
The Energy Information Administration will release its petroleum status report for the week ended April 25th at 10:30 am ET.
Crude Oil stockpiles rose by 3.5 million barrels to 397.7 million barrels in the week ended April 18th. Inventories remained well above the average range for this time of the year. Distillate stockpiles increased by 0.6 million barrels but were below the lower limit of the average range.
Meanwhile, Gasoline inventories slipped by 0.3 million barrels and were in the lower limit of the average range. Refinery capacity utilization averaged 88.8 percent over the four weeks ended April 18th compared to 87.5 percent over the four weeks ended April 11th.
At 2 pm ET, the FOMC will release its monetary policy statement following the conclusion of its two-day meeting. Economists widely expect The Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25 percent and announce another $10 billion taper to its bond purchase program. |
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| | Stocks in Focus | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | General Electric announced that it has offered to acquire the thermal, renewable and grid businesses of Alstom for an enterprise value of $13.5 billion. If successful in the purchase, the company expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its earnings by 8-10 cents per share. Alstom stated that it has positively received GE's offer and has appointed an independent committee to review the transaction by June 2nd.
eBay reported better than expected first quarter results. While the company's full year guidance was largely in line, its second quarter guidance was weak.
DreamWorks Animation reported a loss for its first quarter, while its revenues exceeded estimates. Seagate Technology reported better than expected earnings, while its revenues were slightly shy of estimates.
Twitter reported better than expected first quarter results, but the company issued lukewarm 2014 revenue guidance.
Marriott International reported first quarter earnings that were ahead of estimates, but its revenues were below estimates. The company's 2014 earnings guidance was in line.
Boston Properties (BXP) reported first quarter funds from operation that missed estimates, while its revenues were in line. The company raised its full year funds from operations guidance. United Steel's (X) first quarter results exceeded estimates.
Genworth Financial's first quarter net operating income exceeded estimates, while its revenues were shy of estimates. Insurer ACE and Hanover Insurance reported forecast-beating earnings for the first quarter.
Lam Research announced that its board approved a $1 billion capital return program, including the initiation of its first ever quarterly dividend and an $850 million stock buyback authorization.
SM Energy reported first quarter adjusted net income that was ahead of estimates, and its revenues also exceeded estimates.
Panera Bread reported first quarter results that beat estimates, but its second quarter and full year guidance trailed expectations.
Manpower (MAN) announced a 7 percent increase in its dividend.
Boyd Gaming , CB Richard Ellis (CBG), Charles River , Emulex , Fidelity Financial , Flextronics , Jack Henry , JDS Uniphase , Lincoln National , MetLife (MET), Murphy Oil (MUR), QuickLogic , Tesoro , WebMD Health , Western Digital , Williams Companies and Williams Partners 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 but have been witnessing volatility since then. The major averages in the region are currently mixed, as they await the FOMC decision and digest some domestic corporate news.
In corporate news, French bank BNP Paribas reported better than expected first quarter results, although it hinted at higher legal costs. Air France-KLM reported a narrower loss for its first quarter.
Daimler reported better than expected first quarter results, and aluminum maker Norsk Hydro reported higher profits for its first quarter. Meanwhile, Shell (RDS) reported lower first quarter profits, hurt by charges. French peer Total also reported a 10 percent drop in earnings.
On the economic front, a report released by the German Federal Labor Agency showed that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 25,000 in April compared to expectations for a 10,000 drop. The jobless rate remained unchanged at 6.7 percent, in line with estimates.
Meanwhile, the German Federal Statistical Office reported that the jobless rate for Germany calculated based on ILO standards came in at 5.1 percent for March.
French statistical office INSEE reported that French producer prices fell more than expected in March, both annually and on a month-over-month basis.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | The major Asian markets closed mixed, with the Hong Kong, South Korean and Taiwanese markets retreating, while most other major markets in the region advanced. The positive close on Wall Street served to lift the mood even as cautious sentiment prevailed ahead of the FOMC announcement.
The Japanese market saw some strength early on in the session, as traders expected the Bank of Japan to announce further easing measures. However with the central bank maintaining a status quo position, the Nikkei 225 average pared most of its gains but still closed up 15.88 points or 0.11 percent at 14,304.
Australia's All Ordinaries showed volatility throughout the session before closing up 3.90 points or 0.07 percent at 5,471. Material and energy stocks advanced, helping to offset weakness in the financial and consumer staple spaces.
While China's Shanghai Composite ended up 6.02 points or 0.30 percent at 2,026, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,134, down 319.92 points or 1.42 percent.
On the economic front, the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged, with the board voting unanimously to continue to increase its monetary base at an annual rate of 60 trillion yen to 70 trillion yen. The Bank of Japan maintained its forecast of hitting its 2 percent inflation target in fiscal 2016 without adding more stimulus.
A report released by Japan's Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry showed that industrial production rose 0.3 percent month-over-month in March, slower than the 0.5 percent increase expected by economists. Meanwhile, a separate government report showed that housing starts in Japan fell more than expected in March.
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude Oil futures are sliding $1.06 to $100.20 a barrel after rising $0.44 to $101.28 a barrel on Tuesday. An ounce of Gold is currently fetching $1,293.80, down $2.50 from the previous session's close of $1,296.30. On Tuesday, Gold fell $2.70.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 102.26 yen compared to the 102.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3865 compared to yesterday's $1.3812.
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