Benzinga Market Primer: Tuesday, April 16

Futures Higher After Two-Day Wall St. Sell Off

U.S. equity futures bounced back higher in early pre-market trade following two days of steep declines. Key earnings from multiple industries should drive the market Tuesday.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• The German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index fell from a 3-month high to 36.3 from 48.5 in March, below forecasts of 42. Also, the current conditions index slipped to 9.2 from 13.6 previously, below forecasts as well. The ZEW noted that the EU debt crisis was still weighing on the German economy and that German exports to the EU and globally were declining.


• South Korea launched a new 19.3 trillion won stimulus plan, or about $17.3 billion, aimed at creating 40,000 jobs and boosting the economy which has been suffering in the wake of the depreciating yen.


• The minutes of the latest Reserve Bank of Australia meeting were released showing that the RBA was leaning towards more easing through further rate cuts should the economy continue to soften. RBA Board member Guy Debelle also noted in comments after the release that he expects China to grow a mere 7.5 percent for 2013.


• S&P 500 futures rose 6.5 points to 1,550.20.


• The EUR/USD was higher at 1.3081.


• Spanish 10-year government bond yields fell to 4.73 percent from 4.74 percent.


• Italian 10-year government bond yields rose to 4.35 percent from 4.34 percent.


• Gold rebounded 1.24 percent to $1,390.20 per ounce.

Asian Markets

Asian shares were mixed overnight as Japanese shares slid on yen strength. The Japanese Nikkei Index fell 0.41 percent while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.59 percent and the Hang Seng Index fell 0.46 percent. Also, the Korean Kospi rose 0.09 percent and Australian shares fell 0.34 percent.

European Markets

European shares were mostly lower in early trade following weak economic data including the ZEW survey. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.62 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index declined 0.49 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.65 percent and the French CAC declined 0.7 percent while U.K. shares lost 0.58 percent.

Commodities

Commodities were mixed overnight as oil continued to make new lows while metals finally bounced. WTI Crude futures fell 0.8 percent to $88.00 per barrel and Brent Crude futures declined 1.02 percent to $100.39 per barrel. Copper futures rose 0.12 percent to $327.70 per pound. Gold was higher and silver futures gained 0.27 percent to $23.43 per ounce.

Currencies

Currency markets were in flux overnight following huge moves in the yen Monday which carried over through the overnight session. The EUR/USD was higher at 1.3081 and the dollar gained against the yen to 97.90, or 1.17 percent. Overall, the Dollar Index fell 0.15 percent on weakness against the euro, the pound, the Canadian dollar, and the Swiss franc, despite the strength against the yen. Notably, the yen also declined 1.5 percent against the euro as the EUR/JPY rose to 128.05 and the yen declined 1.63 percent against the Australian dollar as the AUD/JPY gained to 101.424.

Earnings Reported Yesterday

Key companies that reported earnings Monday include:

• Citigroup reported first quarter EPS of $1.29 vs. $1.19 expected on revenue of $20.5 billion vs. forecasts of $20.11 billion.


• M&T Bank MTB reported first quarter EPS of $2.06 vs. $19.6 forecast.


• Charles Schwab SCHW reported first quarter EPS of $0.15 vs. $0.16 expected on revenue of $1.29 billion vs. $1.27 billion expected.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the pre-market included:

• Goldcorp GG shares bounced 2.2 percent pre-market as gold prices stabilized.


• Carnival Corporation CCL shares rose 1.75 percent pre-market as the company announced that it will reimburse the U.S. government for costs associated with rescuing the Triumph.


• Time Warner TWX shares fell 1.54 percent pre-market despite the new film 42 winning at the box office this past weekend.


• Newmont Mining NEM shares rose 2.48 percent as commodity prices rebounded.

Earnings

Notable companies expected to report earnings Tuesday include:

• TD Ameritrade AMTD is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.26 vs. $0.25 a year ago.


• Blackrock BLK is expected to report first quarter EPS of $3.58 vs. $3.16 a year ago.


• CSX CSX is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.40 vs. $0.43 a year ago.


• Goldman Sachs GS is expected to report first quarter EPS of $3.84 vs. $3.92 a year ago.


• Intel INTC is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.41 vs. $0.53 a year ago.


• Johnson and Johnson JNJ is expected to report first quarter EPS of $1.40 vs. $1.37 a year ago.


• Coca-Cola KO is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.44 a year ago.


• Yahoo! YHOO is expected to report first quarter EPS of $0.24 vs. $0.24 a year ago.

Economics

On the economics calendar Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index and housing starts are due out as well as the Redbook and Industrial Production data. Also, the Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills and Fed members Duke, Kocherlakota and Yellen are set to speak throughout the day. Overnight, the British Claimant Count and the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee minutes are set to be released.

Good luck and good trading.