#PreMarket Primer: Monday, February 24: Ukraine Saga Not Over Yet

Peace may have returned to Ukraine but the country’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, is wanted for mass murder. Additionally, Egypt’s government will resign. These stories are making international investors nervous but markets are mostly quiet.

Friday, the Dow lost about 30 points to close at 16,103.30. The S&P was down 0.1 percent, or about 3 points to close at 1,836.25, and the NASDAQ was down 0.1 percent to 4,263.41.

This morning, U.S. markets are indicated higher. The Dow is 11 points higher, the S&P is two points higher and the NASDAQ is indicated to gain about six points at the open.

Related: Market Wrap For February 21: Markets End The Week On A Negative Note

Top Stories

  • Netflix NFLX will pay Comcast CMCSA for faster delivery of its streaming business.
  • New Facebook FB acquisition, WhatsApp Suffers weekend outage. Blames it on a faulty router.
  • Apple AAPL and Samsung SSNLF fail to resolve patent litigation through mediation. The case will now go to trial.

Asian Markets

By Asian standards, markets were quiet after data showing Chinese home prices retreated slightly. The Nikkei was down about 0.2 percent to close at 14,837.68 and the Hang Seng was down nearly 0.8 percent to finish at 22,388.56.

The Shanghai Composite closed 1.75 percent lower at 2,076.69 and the Kospi was 0.4 percent lower closing at 1949.05.

European Markets

Europe is following the lead of Asia this morning. The FTSE is 0.5 percent lower at 6,804.91 and the DAX is down 0.2 percent at 9,639.28. Finally, the CAC is flat at 4,379.56

Commodities

Natural gas continues its parabolic move gaining 4.6 percent. The commodity currently sits at $6.41 Other commodities are mixed. WTI is down 0.1 percent at $102.11 while Brent is down 0.1 percent at $109.68.

Gold is up about 0.8 percent at $1,334.00 and silver is higher by about 0.6 percent at $21.92. Copper is 1.2 percent lower at $3.24.

Currencies

The euro is 0.2 percent higher against the dollar at 1.376 and the dollar is about 0.1 percent lower against the yen at 102.38

The pound is 0.2 percent higher against the dollar at 1.665 and the Aussie dollar is at 0.897 against the dollar—nearly flat.

Pre-Market Movers

3D Systems DDD is down four percent. Silver Spring Network SSNI is up more than seven percent, BlackBerry BBRY is up four percent, and the United States Natural Gas ETF UNG is about 2.5 percent.

Notable Earnings

Earnings reports from Friday:

  • Charter Communication CHTR reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.35, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22. Revenue of $2.14 billion missed the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion.
  • Dish Network DISH reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.64, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41. Revenue of $3.54 billion missed the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion.

The following companies will report earnings today:

  • Tenet Healthcare THC is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.37 per share on revenue of $3.87 billion.
  • ONEOK OKE is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.58 per share on revenue of $4.01 billion.
  • Live Nation Entertainment LYV is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.37 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion.

To read today’s full earnings calendar, click here.

Economics

The economics calendar is quiet today. The PMI Serves Flash report will reach the market at 8:58 AM ET and a three and six-month bill auction will take place today.

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Posted In: NewsEurozoneFuturesCommoditiesForexLegalPre-Market OutlookMarketsTechAppleCharter CommunicationComcastDish NetworkNetflixONEOKSamsungtenet healthcareUnited States Natural Gas
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