Benzinga Market Primer, Friday April 5: Non-Farm Payrolls Edition

Futures Slightly Lower Ahead of Employment Report

U.S. equity futures declined in early pre-market trade ahead of the much anticipated Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average of economists surveyed by Bloomberg is expecting 193,000 jobs added, with the most recent changes to updates averaging closer to 173,000 jobs.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• Greece is likely to delay its full Troika report, according to a Reuters source, meaning that the Eurogroup will be unable to pay its next bailout tranche next week.


• Famed investor George Soros spoke in a CNBC interview overnight on Japan indicating that the BoJ is taking a massive risk with its new policies and risks an avalanche decline in the currency.


• Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen spoke overnight and said that she was encouraged by recent positives in the U.S. economy but reiterated that she sees no withdrawal of stimulus any time soon.


• S&P 500 futures declined 3.8 points to 1,550.80.


• The EUR/USD was lower at 1.2924 after a wild session Thursday.


• Spanish 10-year government bond yields fell to 4.86 percent from 4.91 percent.


• Italian 10-year government bond yields fell to 4.48 percent from 4.56 percent.


• Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,551.80.

Asian Markets

Asian shares were mixed overnight as Japanese shares continued to climb for a fourth straight day. The Japanese Nikkei Index rose 1.58 percent while the broader Topix Index gained 2.74 percent and the Hang Seng Index slipped 2.73 percent in Hong Kong. Also, Korean shares continued to decline on war tensions as the Kospi declined 1.64 percent and Australian shares fell 0.45 percent.

European Markets

European shares were mixed overnight as Spanish and Italian shares rose and other markets fell. The Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.79 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 0.76 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.23 percent and the French CAC fell 0.28 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.62 percent.

Commodities

Commodities were mostly higher overnight despite slightly weaker oil prices. WTI Crude futures fell 0.03 percent to $93.14 per barrel and Brent Crude futures slipped 0.08 percent to $106.20 per barrel. Copper futures rose 0.51 percent to $336.55 per pound after taking a beating the last few days. Gold was higher and silver futures rose 0.63 percent to $26.86 per ounce.

Currencies

Currency markets showed dollar strength overnight as the yen halted its decline. The EUR/USD was lower at 1.2924 and the dollar fell against the yen to 96.23. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.06 percent on strength against the euro, the pound, the Swiss franc, and the Canadian dollar.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the pre-market included:

• Facebook FB shares rose 0.84 percent pre-market after announcing Facebook Home for Android.


• Carnival Corporation CCL shares fell 1.51 percent pre-market after a ship docked in Alabama broke away from the port.


• Red Hat RHT shares fell 0.65 percent pre-market after naming a new head of virtualization to gain market share in the cloud business.


• Bank of America BAC shares gained 0.5 percent pre-market after announcing 469 job cuts yesterday.

Earnings

Notable companies expected to report earnings Friday include:

• Penford Corporation PENX is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.14 vs. a loss of $0.03 per share a year ago.

Economics

On the economics calendar Friday, the Employment Situation Report is due out and economists are looking for Non-Farm Payrolls of 190,000 with Private Payrolls adding 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remaining flat at 7.7 percent. Also, the U.S. Treasury is due out and the ECRI Weekly Index will also be released.

Good luck and good trading.