U.S. equity futures are trading lower as the market may take a pause from its recent rally. Yesterday saw the markets trade mixed as the tech sector once again led equities but the S&P 500 Index (SPX) was basically unchanged. Fed Chair Yellen will not repeat her semiannual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate today at 9 CT as scheduled due to the heavy snowstorm impacting DC today. The testimony will be rescheduled at a future date. The leaves the Fed-speak roster clear until St. Louis Fed dove Bullard speaks again next Friday on Feb-21 on the U.S. economy and monetary policy after backing the taper schedule. Volatility was weak again yesterday as low volume and no downside catalyst saw option traders little interested in purchasing anything. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) stands at $14.3 but should rise today if stocks remain in negative territory.
Treasuries have quickly reversed yesterday’s sell-off and the 10-year yield is now back down near 2.7%. Global equities are lower following a recent run of gains, with the mood dampened by disappointing earnings reports and other corporate news. Japan fell 1.8% and Italy is leading the Euro-zone to the downside. Also of note was another fall in the German CPI which is beginning to show signs of deflationary pressure. Retail sales and Weekly jobless claims should provide direction today and the results of the 30-year auction at noon could rile the bond market.
Stock Stories:
Whole Foods (WFM) –Bitterly organic – The natural-foods grocery chain posts earnings that came up short of analyst expectations. The company missed on Revenue and EPS and is cutting FY14 guidance. The stock is up down 8.5% ahead of the opening bell and now off 22% from its all-time high reached just 4 months ago.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) – Does it matter?! – The tech bellwether posts stronger than expected earnings after the close yesterday. The company repurchased $4B of stock in Q2 and boosted its Dividend by $0.02. The results never seem to matter as the stock is down 4% in the pre-market and has traded flat for over 10 years.
Major Economic Reports:
7:30 am CT– Weekly Jobless Claims
7:30 am CT– Retail Sales
9:00 am CT – Business Inventories
9:30 am CT – Natural Gas Inventories
9:30 am CT – Fed’s Yellen Speaks
12:00 pm CT – 30-year Bond Auction Results
Notable Earnings:
Before Market: ABX, APA, AVP, BG, CPN, GG, GNC, GT, HOT, PEP, TAP, WSO
After Market: AIG, BRCD, CLF, IM, KEG, KRFT, MASI, RGC
Friday – 2/14: CPB, SJM, VFC |
发表于 2014-2-13 09:23
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