Benzinga Market Primer: Tuesday, June 4

Futures Marginally Lower Ahead of Quiet Day

U.S. equity futures traded marginally lower after Monday's gains heading into a quiet day both on the earnings and economics calendars. Should the S&P 500 post gains today, it would mark the 21st consecutive Tuesday of gains.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• Spain's unemployment count, those collecting unemployment benefits, declined 98,265 in May to 4.89 million, a drop of almost 2 percent. The figure was much stronger than expected and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had been hinting that Spain may be close to turning a corner economically.


• The Reserve Bank of Australia left rates on hold at 2.75 percent as expected overnight. In the accompanying statement, the RBA noted that there is scope for further easing should it be required, that inflation remains tepid, and that the Aussie dollar still remains elevated given the drop in commodity prices.


• European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Chief Klaus Regling announced this morning that the bailout facility will be prepared to make direct bank injections once the banking regulator is firmly established within the European Central Bank. Previously, the ESM would have to loan money to governments to inject to banks, as it did with Spain in the summer of 2012. Regling also added that 22 percent of the ESM's bonds have been bought by Asian investors, the largest international holders.


• S&P 500 futures declined 1.1 points to 1,635.10.


• The EUR/USD was flat at 1.3076.


• Spanish 10-year government bond yields were flat at 4.47 percent.


• Italian 10-year government bond yields were flat at 4.16 percent.


• Gold fell 0.49 percent to $1,405.00 per ounce.

Asian Markets

Asian shares closed mixed overnight as Japanese shares recouped some of Monday's losses and Chinese markets declined. The Japanese Nikkei Index gained 2.05 percent while the broader Topix Index rose 2.6 percent despite the Shanghai Composite Index dropping 1.15 percent and the Hang Seng Index eking out a gain of 0.01 percent. Also, the Korean Kospi closed flat on the day as Australian shares fell 0.45 percent in tandem with China.

European Markets

European shares traded higher in early trade after the positive Spanish economic news and also on the ESM news. The Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.90 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.93 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.52 percent and the French CAC 40 Index gained 0.43 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.47 percent.

Commodities

Commodities were mostly lower save for copper as dollar strength returned. WTI Crude futures declined 0.67 percent to $92.82 per barrel and Brent Crude futures fell 0.32 percent to $101.73 per barrel. Copper futures rose 0.5 percent to $334.70 following the RBA decision. Gold was lower and silver futures fell 0.88 percent to $22.52 per ounce.

Currencies

Currency markets were on the move overnight as the dollar regained some ground following recent losses. The EUR/USD was flat at 1.3076 and the dollar rose against the yen to 100.25, back above the psychological 100 level that it broke down through yesterday. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.17 percent on strength against the yen, the Canadian dollar, and the Swiss franc. Notably, the Aussie dollar weakened overnight as well following the RBA comments that there is scope for further easing and that the currency remains strong.

Earnings Reported Yesterday

Key companies that reported earnings Monday include:

• Cracker Barrel CBRL reported third quarter EPS of $1.02 vs. $0.94 expected on revenue of $640.4 million vs. $630.78 million expected.


• ABM Industries ABM reported second quarter EPS of $0.36 vs. $0.33 expected on revenue of $1.17 billion vs. $1.18 billion expected. The company also raised its full-year guidance.


• G-III Apparel GIII reported first quarter EPS of $0.05 vs. an expected loss of $0.05 per share on revenue of $272.6 million. The company also raised guidance for the next quarter and for the full year although guidance for the next quarter came in slightly below Wall Street forecasts while the full year guidance was strong.


• SAIC Corp. SAI reported first quarter EPS of $0.23 vs. $0.26 expected on revenue of $2.71 billion vs. $2.59 billion expected. SAIC also raised guidance in the quarter.


• Verint Systems VRNT reported first quarter EPS of $0.44 vs. $0.52 expected on revenue of $205.4 million vs. $203.34 million expected. The company also guided full-year earnings roughly in line with Wall Street forecasts.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the pre-market included:

• G-III Apparel GIII shares climbed 6.69 percent pre-market after the company reported better than expected earnings and raised full year guidance to above Wall Street forecasts.


• Zynga ZNGA shares bounced back 0.3 percent pre-market after dropping 12.03 percent Monday as the company announced that it is set to lay off 18 percent of its workforce. Before the announcement, All Things D ran a report with a similar story.


• ABM Industries ABM shares gained 3.25 percent pre-market after the company reported better than expected earnings and raised its guidance.


• General Motors GM shares climbed 3.22 percent pre-market as the automaker is set to replace H.J. Heinz HNZ in the S&P 500 and S&P 100 after Heinz is fully taken private.


• Microchip Technology MCHP shares gained 4.42 percent pre-market as the company raised guidance for the first quarter. The company now sees sales growth of 4-7 percent vs. 2-6 percent previously and expects adjusted EPS of $0.52-$0.56 vs. the consensus Wall Street estimate of $0.52.

Earnings

Notable companies expected to report earnings Tuesday include:

• Dollar General DG is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.71 vs. $0.63 a year ago.


• Bob Evans Farms BOBE is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.64 vs. $0.80 a year ago.


• Mattress Firm Holding Corp. MFRM is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.37 vs. $0.31 a year ago.


• Shuffle Master SHFL is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.20 vs. $0.20 a year ago.


• Analogic ALOG is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.66 vs. $0.59 a year ago.

Economics

On the economics calendar Tuesday, international trade data is due out as well as the weekly Redbook report. Also, Fed members Sarah Bloom Raskin, Esther George, and Richard Fischer are expected to speak. The Treasury is also expected to auction 4-week bills. Overnight, the Australian GDP report, HSBC China Non-Manufacturing PMI, Eurozone and British Services PMIs, and the Eurozone's GDP report are all expected to be released.

Good luck and good trading.

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