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| | US Market |  | | NYSE | AMEX | Dow Jones | Nasdaq |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to lower opening on Thursday, with sentiment reflecting nervousness of traders over conflicting signals concerning the economic condition. After yesterday's disappointing manufacturing and private payrolls report, economic data released short while ago vouch for the fact that the economic momentum is still intact. The trade deficit for February narrowed more than expected and jobless claims for the recent reporting week unexpectedly fell. The impending release of the non-farm payrolls report on Friday could trigger anxiety among traders and prevent them from taking positions.
U.S. stocks ended Wednesday's session lower, as mostly negative economic data rendered the already cautious mood negative. The major averages opened narrowly mixed but fell sharply in early trading. After trimming some of the losses, the averages moved roughly sideways before ending moderately lower.
The Dow Industrials ended down 77.94 points or 0.44 percent at 17,698, the S&P 500 Index closed 8.20 points or 0.40 percent lower at 2,060 and the Nasdaq Composite ended at 4,880, down 20.66 points or 0.42 percent.
Twenty-two of the thirty Dow components closed lower, while the remaining eight stocks advanced. Wal-Mart (WMT), 3M (MMM), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Pfizer (PFE) were among the worst decliners of the session. On the other hand, American Express (AXP) and Goldman Sachs (GS) rallied strongly.
Among the sectors, airline and biotechnology stocks came under selling pressure but gold stocks soared.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing survey showed that manufacturing growth slowed in March. The manufacturing PMI fell to 51.5 in March from 52.9 in February, dropping to the lowest level since May 2013. The new orders index fell 0.7 points to 51.8, the order backlogs index slipped 2 points to 49.5 and the employment index declined 1.4 points to 50. Out of the 18 industries surveyed, only 10 saw growth in March compared to 12 in February.
Meanwhile, final estimates released by Markit showed that manufacturing activity expanded more than expected. The final reading of 55.7 for March represented an upward revision of the flash estimate of 55.3 and an increase from February's 55.1.
ADP's survey showed that the private sector in the U.S. added 189,000 jobs in March, well below the consensus estimate of 230,000. March marked the first month of sub-200,000 job gains after thirteen months of above-200,000 job gains.
The Commerce Department reported that construction spending eased 0.1 percent month-over-month in February, while the previous month's spending was downwardly revised to show a drop of 1.7 percent. Residential construction spending dipped by 0.2 percent.
Auto sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.2 million units in March, ahead of the 16.8 million-unit rate expected by economists. |
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| | US Economic Reports | | | | CADUSD | Oil | Gold | Allbanc |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | With the value of imports showing another substantial decrease, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by much more than anticipated in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit narrowed to $35.4 billion in February from a revised $42.7 billion in January. Economist had expected the deficit to narrow slightly to $41.5 billion from the $41.8 billion originally reported for the previous month.
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended March 28th, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 268,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 288,000. The drop surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge up to 285,000 from the 282,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is due to make the opening remarks at the St Louis Fed community development conference in Washington at 8:30 am ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is also set to speak on economic mobility at the conference.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its factory orders data for February at 10 am ET. Economists expect factory orders to have declined 0.4 percent month-over-month.
In January, factory orders fell 0.2 percent month-over-month, declining for the 6th straight month. Meanwhile, durable goods orders, which make up the bulk of factory orders, fell 1.4 percent month-over-month in February, belying expectations for a 0.7 percent increase.
Excluding transportation, durable goods orders were down 0.4 percent, while economists expected a 0.3 percent gain. Transportation orders were down 3.5 percent. Non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircrafts and parts, were down 1.4 percent, with the category falling the sixth straight month.
The Treasury Department is set to make announcements concerning next week's auctions of 3-year and 10-year notes and 30-year bonds 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 | | | Micron Technology (MU) reported better than expected second quarter profits and sales, while its revenue guidance for the third quarter was weak.
McDonald's (MCD) announced a wage increase and paid time off for full-time and part-time crew employees at its company-owned restaurants.
Rite Aid. (RAD) reported that same store sales increased 4.3 percent year-over-year for the four weeks ended March 28th. March front-end same store sales increased 2.5 percent.
Hutchison Technology (HTCH) pre-announced second quarter sales that trailed current consensus estimates. The company attributed the predicament to a weak personal computer market.
Progressive Software (PRGS) reported better than expected first quarter results but lowered its full year guidance.
Boston Scientific (BSX) announced an agreement to buy medical device maker Xlumena. The deal is expected to close this week.
FMC Corp. (FMC) announced the completion of the sale of its Alkali Chemicals business to Tronox (TROX) in a deal valued at $1.64 billion. FMC also said it expects to close its Cheminova acquisition in April.
Sigma Designs (SIGM) reported fourth quarter earnings and revenues that exceeded estimates. |
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| | European Markets | | European stocks opened mostly higher but experienced volatility in early trading. Since then, the averages have turned mixed.
In corporate news, Marks & Spencer said its like-for-like sales of general merchandise rose 0.7 percent in the 13 weeks ended March 28th, rising for the first time in 4 years. Total sales in the U.K. climbed 2.7 percent, while its non-U.K. sales slipped 3.8 percent.
In its trading statement, Tate & Lyle affirmed its full year guidance, which it had lowered in February.
On the economic front, the results of a survey by Markit/the Chartered Institute for Purchasing & Supply showed that the U.K. construction sector expanded at a slower rate in March. The construction sector PMI fell to 57.8 from 60.1 in February, while economists expected a smaller drop to 59.8.
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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 mostly higher, with oil's rally and bargain hunting benefiting stocks in the region. The gains came despite the negative performance by U.S. stocks overnight. Meanwhile, the Indian market was closed on account of a public holiday.
The Japanese market rebounded from the previous session's slide even as the yen remained flat. The Nikkei 225 Index opened higher and rose sharply in early trading. After moving sideways till the mid-session, the index legged up in the afternoon only to give back some of its gain in late trading. The index still closed up 277.95 points or 1.46 percent at 19,313. A majority of stocks advanced, led by financial, utility and resource stocks.
Australia's All Ordinaries hovered in positive territory throughout the session before ending up 36.80 points or 0.63 percent at 5,870. Most sectors advanced, led by consumer discretionary, financial and real estate stocks, although telecom and consumer staple stocks came under selling pressure.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended at 25,276, up 192.89 points or 0.77 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite added 15.49 points or 0.41 percent higher at 3,826. The Chinese market got a shot in the arm by news that China is looking to expand the scope of its social security fund.
On the economic front, a report released by the Melbourne Institute showed that inflation expectations in Australia rose in March. The TD-Securities-Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge rose 0.4 percent month-over-month in March after remaining unchanged in February.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the trade deficit for Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted rate of A$1.256 billion in February compared to the shortfall of A$1.30 billion expected by economists.
The monetary base in Japan climbed 35.2 percent year-over-year in March, according to data released by the Bank of Japan. This followed a 36.7 percent spike in February.
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| | Currency and Commodities Markets | | Crude oil futures are tumbling $0.82 to $49.27 a barrel after jumping $2.49 to $50.09 a barrel on Wednesday. The previous session's rally came as the petroleum status report showed a drop in gasoline inventories.
The report showed that crude oil stockpiles increased by 4.8 million barrels to 471.4 million barrels in the week ended March 27th. Inventories were at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Distillate inventories climbed 1.3 million barrels yet were in the lower half of the average range. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels but remained well above the upper limit of the average range.
Refinery capacity utilization averaged 88.6 percent over the four weeks ended March 27th compared to 87.9 percent over the four weeks ended March 20th.
Gold futures, which jumped $25 to $1,208.20 an ounce in the previous session, are currently slipping $6.50 to $1,201.70 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 119.77 yen compared to the 119.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0828 compared to yesterday's $1.0763.
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