#PreMarket Primer: Thursday, October 23: Shooting At Canadian Parliament Unsettles Markets

On Wednesday, a gunman entered Canada’s parliament building and fired shots outside the room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was speaking. Harper was unharmed, but the gunman shot and killed a Canadian soldier at the nation’s National War Memorial before entering.

Reports say that around 30 shots were fired inside the building before the gunman was fatally shot. While Canadian officials have not released any details regarding the shooter’s identification, U.S. officials say his name was Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. The man was born Michael Joseph Hall, but had changed his name after converting to Islam.
The shooting in Ottawa came just two days after a radical muslim man hit two Canadian soldiers with his car, killing one of them. However, Monday’s incident hasn’t been linked to the shooting in Parliament and no groups have taken responsibility for the act.
Top News
In news around the markets:

NATO On High Alert After Russian Plane Passes Through Estonia

A Russian plane crossed into the airspace over Estonia on Tuesday, putting NATO on alert and highlighting the growing tension between Russia and Western Europe. The flight prompted Estonia’s Foreign Ministry to draw up a protest note for the Russian ambassador on Wednesday. The flight occurred only days after Sweden began searching for foreign submarines in the Baltic Sea near Stockholm when the nation’s military spotted what they believe was a Russian submarine.

Data Show U.S. Inflation Rate Is Stable

September inflation data from the U.S. likely gave the Federal Reserve more room to consider its policy changes as the figures showed that consumer prices rose, but only modestly. A CPI report for September showed that consumer prices increased by 0.1 percent in September, beating expectations for no change. The figure, though better than expected, suggests that the nation’s inflation rate is relatively stable for the moment, which will allows the Fed to hold off on a rate hike.

Chinese, Iranian Militaries Team Up

On Thursday, China’s Defense Minister Chang Qanquan said that the Chinese military is looking to create a closer relationship with the Iranian military. China docked two warships at an Iranian port where they will work together with the Iranian Navy to train. The move underscores China’s commitment to extending its influence outside of Asia and allows Iran to better defend itself in the Persian Gulf.

Proctor & Gamble CEO Announces Management Changes

As The Procter & Gamble Company PG CEO A.G. Lafley worked to trim the company’s many brands and focus on revenue gains, he announced significant changes to the company’s management on Wednesday. The reshuffling resulted in Melanie Healy, the company’s head of North America, leaving the company. Healy was expected to be one of five candidates to replace Lafley when he steps down next year, so her departure was unexpected.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were mostly lower; the NIKKEI was down 0.37 percent, the Shanghai composite was down 0.98 percent, the KOSPI fell 0.27 percent, the Hang Seng index was down 0.30 percent and China’s Shenzhen composite posted the largest loss, down 1.36 percent.
European Markets
European markets were mostly higher with the exception of the U.K. FTSE, which lost 0.12 percent. The STOXX 600 was up 0.30 percent, the DAX gained 0.68 percent and the CAC 40 was up 0.72 percent.
Commodities
Energy futures were lower; Brent futures lost 0.33 percent and WTI futures were down 0.17 percent. Gold and silver were down 0.21 percent and 0.27 percent, respectively, while industrial metals were higher. Copper gained 0.23 percent, aluminum was up 1.05 percent, zinc rose 2.24 percent and tin was up 0.26 percent.
Currencies
The euro made steady gains on Thursday morning, up 0.33 percent against the pound, 0.13 percent against the dollar and 0.52 percent against the yen. The dollar was higher against both the yen and the pound, up 0.40 percent and d0.17 percent, respectively, but lost 0.08 percent against the Australian dollar.
Earnings
Notable reports released on Wednesday included:

  • AT&T Inc. T reported third quarter EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $32.96 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $32.16 billion.
  • Boeing Co BA reported third quarter EPS of $2.14 on revenue of $23.78 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.80 on revenue of $22.13 billion.
  • Dow Chemical Co DOW reported third quarter EPS of $0.72 on revenue of $14.40 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.50 on revenue of $13.73 billion.
  • Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC reported third quarter EPS of $2.26 on revenue of $5.98 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $2.14 on revenue of $6.11 billion.

PreMarket Movers
Stocks moving in the #PreMarket included:

  • Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR was up 1.02 percent in premarket trade after falling 2.48 percent on Wednesday.
  • Facebook Inc FB was up 1.01 percent in premarket trade after gaining 7.05 percent over the past five days.
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM gained 0.30 percent in premarket trade after falling 0.83 percent on Wednesday.
  • AT&T Inc. T was down 1.51 percent in premarket trade after releasing disappointing earnings on Wednesday.

Earnings
Notable releases expected on Thursday include:

  • General Motors Company GM is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.95 on revenue of $39.52 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.96 on revenue of $38.98billion.
  • Microsoft Corporation MSFT is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $22.02 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.62 on revenue of $18.53 billion.
  • Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is expected to report a third quarter loss of $0.73 on revenue of $20.84 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.09 on revenue of $17.09 billion.
  • Comcast Corporation CMCSA is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $16.82 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.65 on revenue of $16.15 billion.

Economics
Thursday will be a busy day for economic data, with releases including Chinese house prices, French manufacturing and services PMI, German manufacturing and services PMI, the Spanish unemployment rate, British retail sales, U.S. house prices and U.S. manufacturing PMI.
For a recap of Wednesday’s market action, click here.
Tune into Benzinga’s #PreMarket info show with Jeff deGraaf, Ben Banks & Harlan Pyan here.

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Posted In: EarningsNewsCommoditiesForexPre-Market OutlookMarketsPreMarket PrimerProcter & Gamble Company
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