Benzinga Market Primer: Tuesday, January 29

Futures Slip on Earnings, FOMC

U.S. equity futures slipped in early Tuesday trade following mixed earnings reports Monday and ahead of the FOMC meeting that is set to end Wednesday. It will be interesting to see the policy statement on Wednesday, as the new Fed Presidents take their seats on the FOMC due to the annual rotation and the new FOMC has a slightly more dovish tilt.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• Spanish retail sales in December fell 10.7 percent from the same period a year ago, worse than the prior reading of -7.8 percent and below forecasts of a decline of 8.9 percent.


• China's top economic think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, lifted its 2013 growth forecast to 8.4 percent from 8.2 percent noting that first half growth should be stronger than the second half.


• Moody's downgraded six Canadian banks Monday including Bank of Montreal BMO and Toronto Dominion TD, citing a deteriorating housing market and high consumer debt levels.


• S&P 500 futures declined 1.4 points to 1,495.50.


• The EUR/USD was lower at 1.3442.


• Spanish 10-year government bond yields declined to 5.24 percent.


• Italian 10-year government bond yields rose to 4.221 percent.


• Gold rose 0.43 percent to $1,662.20 per ounce.

Asian Markets

Asian shares were mixed overnight led higher by Japanese and Chinese shares. The Japanese Nikkei Index rose 0.39 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.53 percent while the Hang Seng Index declined 0.07 percent. Also, the Korean Kospi rose 0.84 percent and Australian shares rose 1.11 percent.

European Markets

European shares were mostly lower in early trade, albeit slightly lower, following the weak Spanish retail data. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.25 percent and the Italian MIB Index declined 0.22 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX declined 0.1 percent and the French CAC fell 0.26 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.14 percent.

Commodities

Commodities were mixed overnight with energy futures lagging and metal futures leading. WTI Crude futures were flat at $96.44 per barrel and Brent Crude futures declined 0.27 percent to $113.17 per barrel. Copper futures were flat at $366.15 per pound despite strength in Australian and Chinese shares. Gold was higher and silver futures rose 0.81 percent to $31.03 per ounce.

Currencies

Currency markets were mixed overnight with yen and euro crosses indicating a risk-off feel while the pound recouped some of its heavy losses from Monday and the Australian dollar rallied. The EUR/USD was lower at 1.3442, the GBP/USD was higher at 1.5724 after declining strongly on Monday, and the dollar fell against the yen to 90.50. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.02 percent on strength against the euro, the Swiss franc, and the Swedish krone. Also, the AUD/USD was higher at 1.0449, a gain of 0.3 percent.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the pre-market included:

• Yahoo YHOO shares rose 2.95 percent after the company reported earnings that beat analyst forecasts.


• Salesforce.com CRM shares declined 1.16 percent pre-market after the company reported earnings.


• BMC Software BMC shares declined 7.15 percent pre-market following the company's earnings report.


• Newmont Mining NEM shares rose 1 percent pre-market as gold prices rallied strongly.

Earnings

Notable companies expected to report earnings Tuesday include:

• Amazon AMZN is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.28 vs. $0.38 a year ago.


• Corning GLW is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.33 vs. $0.33 a year ago.


• EMC EMC is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.52 vs. $0.49 a year ago.


• Ford F is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.26 vs. $0.22


• Valero VLO is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $1.17 vs. a loss of $0.21 per share a year ago.


• Pfizer PFE is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.44 vs. $0.50 a year ago.

Economics

On the economics calendar Tuesday, the January FOMC meeting begins today and the Redbook is due out. Also, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index is due out and consumer confidence data is expected. In addition, the Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills and 5-year notes. Overnight, Spanish GDP data is due out and Italian and German bond auctions are expected.

Good luck and good trading.