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| | US Market |  | | Shanghai | Hang Seng | NIKKEI | ASX |  |  |  |  | | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Thursday, with sentiment positive, especially in the tech space in reaction to strong results reported by companies belonging to the sector. Among the two economic reports released earlier in the day, durable goods order growth far exceeded expectations, while jobless claims rose much more than expected. With M&A speculation and positive earnings and economic data buoying sentiment, stocks in Europe are currently higher. Against the backdrop, the domestic markets may attempt to regain their footing.
U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday amid some profit taking induced by weak Chinese manufacturing data and mixed earnings news. The major averages opened lower and confined themselves below the unchanged line for much of the session before closing in the red.
The Dow Industrials trimmed much of its early losses before closing down merely 12.72 points or 0.08 percent at 16,502. The S&P 500 Index ended 4.16 points or 0.22 percent lower at 1,875, and the Nasdaq Composite closed near the day's low at 4,127, down 34.49 points or 0.83 percent.
Nineteen of the thirty Dow components receded, while the remaining eleven stocks advanced. AT&T (T) declined 3.78 percent and Procter & Gamble fell 1.10 percent, both in reaction to their financial results. Verizon and Home Depot also moved down over 1 percent each. On the other hand, Boeing climbed 2.41 percent in reaction to its results and guidance, and Travelers rose over 1 percent.
Airline and Gold stocks were among the best performers of the session, while biotech stocks retreated on profit taking. Retail, computer hardware and housing stocks also came under selling pressure.
On the economic front, The Commerce Department reported that new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units in March compared to 449,000 in February. Sales fell in the Midwest, South and West. Inventories measured in terms of months of supply rose to 6 months from 5 months in February, marking the highest reading since October 2011. The median price of a new home rose 12.6 percent year-over-year.
Markit's preliminary manufacturing index for the U.S. came in at 55.4 in April, little changed compared with the March reading of 55.5.
Notwithstanding recent gains, The Dow Industrials is still in the neutral zone, as indicated by its 14-day relative strength indicator, which is currently at 47.56. Immediate resistance for the index lies around the 16,533 level. A break above that level could keep the index on track to test resistance around the 16,576 and 16,640 levels. On the downside, the index has support around 16,447, 16,397, its 21-day MA (currently at 16,364), its 50-day MA (currently at 16,283) and its 100-day MA (currently at 16,190). |
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| | US Economic Reports | | | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | After reporting a bigger than expected increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the previous month, The Commerce Department released a report that once again showed stronger than expected durable goods orders growth in the month of March.
The report said durable goods orders surged up by 2.6 percent in March after jumping by a revised 2.1 percent in February. Economists had expected orders to climb by 2.0 percent compared to the 2.2 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.
Excluding an increase in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still increased by 2.0 percent in March compared to a 0.1 percent uptick in February. The increase in ex-transportation orders far exceeded economist estimates for 0.9 percent growth.
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended April 19th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with initial jobless claims climbing further off their recent lows.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 329,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 305,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 313,000 from the 304,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its manufacturing index for April at 11 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a drop in the index to 8 in April from 10 in March.
The Treasury Department is due to release the results of its auction of $29 billion worth 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 | | | Apple reported second quarter earnings of $11.62 per share on revenues of $45.65 billion. For the third quarter, the company expects revenues of $36 billion to $38 billion. The results exceeded estimates but the guidance was lukewarm. Separately, the company announced that its board has authorized the repurchase of an additional $30 billion worth of shares and also approved an 8 percent increase to its quarterly dividend. The board also announced a 7-for-1 stock split.
Facebook reported better than expected first quarter results and also announced the decision of its CFO David Ebersman to step down.
Texas Instruments reported first quarter earnings of 44 cents per share on revenues of $2.98 billion. The results exceeded estimates. The company also issued strong second quarter guidance.
Qualcomm reported first quarter earnings that were ahead of expectations, while its revenues were shy of estimates.
Xilinx reported fourth quarter earnings that trailed estimates but its revenues were ahead of expectations. The company's first quarter revenue guidance was weak. Lam Research reported better than expected third quarter results. LSI Logic (LSI) reported first quarter earnings that beat estimates, while its revenues trailed expectations.
Verizon reported first quarter results that were ahead of estimates. Caterpillar also reported better than expected first quarter results and raised its guidance for 2014. 3M Co. reported first quarter earnings and revenues that trailed estimates and the company maintained its lukewarm guidance for 2014.
E*Trade reported better than expected first quarter results.
O'Reilly reported first quarter earnings and sales that beat estimates, while its second quarter and full year earnings guidance was weak.
Logitech reported better than expected fourth quarter results and affirmed its 2014 guidance.
Citigroup (C) announced that its board has approved a $1.165 billion stock buyback program through the first quarter of 2015.
Sotheby's released preliminary first quarter results, expecting net auction sales of $730 million, up 40 percent, and a pre-tax loss of $6 million compared to a pre-tax loss of $32 million in the year-ago period.
Amazon , Altera , Baidu.com , Applied Micro , Broadcom , Century Aluminum , Cliff Natural Resources (CLIF), Deckers Outdoor , DeVry , Edward Lifesciences , KLA-Tencor , Maxim Integrated , Microsemi , Microsoft (M SFT), NETGEAR , Pandora Media (P), Republic Services , Starbucks , Swift Transportation and Verisign are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading. |
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| | European Market | | European stocks opened higher after yesterday's setback, with traders reacting to domestic and overseas earnings, M&A news and a positive German business confidence reading. The major averages in the region have seen further upside since then.
In corporate news, Unilever reported better than expected sales for the first quarter and also said it is exploring strategic options for its North American sauce business. Brewer Pernod Ricard reported third quarter revenues that were below estimates. Heineken also reported a sub-par first quarter performance, with currency cited as the culprit.
Germany's Schneider Electric reported better than expected first quarter sales, while AstraZeneca reported a decline in its first quarter profits but confirmed its guidance for 2014. Miner Anglo American reported an increase in first quarter iron ore production. Reports suggest that General Electric is seeking to strike a deal to buy France's Alstom.
On the economic front, the IfO Institute released the results of its German business confidence survey, which showed that its business confidence index rose to 111.2 in April from 110.7 in March. Economists expected a decline in the index to 110.4.
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| | Asian Markets | | | | USDCAD | USDEUR | USDGBP | USDJPY |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | The Asian markets closed mixed once again, with the Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese markets closing lower, while the rest of the major markets advanced. The negative close on Wall Street overnight triggered weakness in the markets even as positive U.S. tech earnings perked up risk appetite.
The yen rebounded, exerting downward influence on Japanese stocks. After nervously holding just below the unchanged line for much of the morning, Japan's Nikkei 225 index retreated sharply in the afternoon and moved sideways thereafter. The index closed 141.28 points or 0.97 percent lower at 14,405. Most export stocks declined, while resource, construction and real estate stocks moved to the upside.
Meanwhile, Australia's All Ordinaries hovered in positive territory throughout the session before closing up 13.30 points or 0.24 percent at 5,516. Material, utility and financial stocks gained ground, while energy and consumer staple stocks came under selling pressure.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,563, up 53.16 points or 0.24 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index ended 10.35 points or 0.50 percent lower at 2,057.
On the economic front, a report released by the Bank of Korea showed that South Korean GDP rose 0.9 percent sequentially in the first quarter, ahead of the 0.8 percent growth estimated by economists.
An index measuring Japanese corporate service prices rose 0.7 percent year-over-year in March, according to a report released by the Bank of Japan. The increase was in line with expectations.
A separate report released by the Conference Board showed that its leading economic indicators index for China climbed 1.2 percent month-over-month in March compared with the 0.9 percent growth reported for February. |
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude Oil futures are climbing $0.09 to $101.53 a barrel after slipping $0.31 to $101.44 a barrel on Wednesday.
The previous session's lackluster performance came amid the increase in risk aversion and the release of the weekly petroleum status report, which showed that 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.
Gold futures, which rose $3.50 to $1,284.60 an ounce in the previous session, are sliding $10.40 to $1,274.20 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 102.64 yen compared to the 102.54 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3797 compared to yesterday's $1.3817.
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