Volatility has returned to the markets in 2014. Monday’s trading session saw a 127-point swing in the Dow as Wall Street reacted to government data that didn’t meet expectations.
The Dow ended the day at 16,425.10—down 44.89 or 0.27 percent. The S&P 500 lost 4.6 points or 0.25 percent to close at 1,826.77 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ shed 18.23 points or 0.4 percent. Yesterday’s close represented the third straight trading day of losses for the U.S. indices.
This morning, the Dow is showing strength. The Pre-market is signaling a 77 point move to the upside and the S&P is up about seven points.
Top Stories
Janet Yellen was confirmed by the Senate to head the Federal Reserve. The vote was generally down party lines with Republican Senators voting no. Only 11 Republicans joined Democrats to vote yes. Yellen will replace outgoing chair Ben Bernanke who vacates his position on January 31.
SamsungSSNLF reported an 18 percent drop in operating profit to $7.8 billion. Investors expressed concern as forward guidance came in soft as Apple makes bigger moves into the Asian smartphone market. Samsung earns two-thirds of its profit from its mobile device business.
Florida State beat Auburn 34-31 to win the BCS Championship
Asian Markets
Asian markets ended the day mixed. The Nikkei continued its losses falling about 0.6 percent to 15814.37. Investors are trading cautiously as they wait for key U.S. data coming out tomorrow and Friday.
The Shanghai Composite finished the day nearly flat, up 1.61 to close at 2047.32 and the Hang Seng, up 0.13 percent to close at 22712.78
European Markets
Europe is trending up about one-quarter of a percent. The FTSE and the German DAX are up about 0.3 percent and the CAC is up 0.2 percent. Key economic data was released including the harmonized index of consumer prices, a measure of inflation, showed 1.2 percent compared to forecasts of 1.4 percent.
Commodities
Energy is showing strength while metals are weak. WTI is up about 0.4 percent at $93.83 per barrel and Brent is up 0.35 percent to $107.12. Natural gas is up about 0.4 percent to $4.32.
Gold is flat at $1,237.10 per ounce, silver is down 0.2 percent to $20.06 per ounce and copper is down 0.2 percent to $3.35.
Currencies
The yen is showing a bit of weakness against the dollar. The Japanese currency is down 0.2 percent against the dollar at 104.44. The Euro is unchanged against the dollar currently sitting at 1.363 and the Aussie dollar is a half percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 0.891.
Pre-Market Movers
Pre-market trading is mostly quiet this morning. Textron TXT is down 1.4 percent in early trading while Lockheed Martin LMT is up 1.1 percent.
Earnings
SchulmanSHLM reported earnings that beat expectations. It’s fiscal first-quarter earnings came in at $0.57 per share on revenue of $585.4 million. Analysts expected EPS of $0.47 on revenue of $571 million.
SonicSONC reported mostly inline earnings. It’s first quarter earnings came in at $0.13 on revenue of $126.7 million. Analysts expected EPS of $0.13 on revenue of $127.98 million.
After-hours today, Apollo Group APOL will report first-quarter earnings. Analysts expect EPS of $0.90 on revenue of $850.58 million.
Franklin Covey FC is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $0.25 per share on revenue of $46.47 million.
Micron TechnologyMU will report first-quarter earnings after the closing bell. Analysts expect EPS of $2.18 per share on revenue of $9.31 billion.
Economics
This week is full of key economic data. International trade data will come out at 8:30 am and a 3-year note auction will take place at 1:00 pm ET. Tomorrow, the FOMC minutes will come out at 2:00 PM.
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