Major indices were higher yesterday but the general tone was cautious. Expect investors to become more cautious as we approach jobs Friday but so far, this has been a week of volatility.
Notable today, Twitter TWTR will file its first earnings report since becoming a publically traded company. Consensus estimates call for a net EPS loss.
The Dow ended up 0.5 percent to close at 15,445.24. The S&P was up 0.75 percent to 1,755.20 and the NASDAQ was up about 0.8 percent to close at 4,031.52.
This morning, U.S. markets are giving back some of yesterday’s gains. The Dow is indicated down about 45 points while the S&P is down about five. The NASDAQ is down about 11 points in early trading.
- Morgan Stanley MS will pay $1.25 billion to settle a case related to the sale of mortgage-backed securities.
- Microsoft MSFT names Satya Nadella as its new CEO. Read our full coverage here and here.
Asian Markets
After a day of carnage in Japan on Tuesday, the Nikkei finished 1.2 percent higher on Wednesday to close at 14,180.38, but others didn’t fare so well.
The Shanghai remained closed for the Chinese New Year and the Hang Seng was down about 0.6 percent to close at 21,269.38—a reverse from gains earlier in the day.
European Markets
Europe is trending higher after data showed that the euro zone was expanding at its fastest pace since June of 2011. The FTSE is up about half of one percent at 6,475.93, the DAX is flat, and the CAC is up about 0.3 percent.
Commodities are mixed as another snowstorm dumps as much of a foot of snow in some areas. WTI is up about one percent at $98.12 while Brent is up at $106.21. Natural Gas is down about 0.5 percent to $5.34.
Gold is up about 0.5 percent at $1,257.40 and silver is up about one percent at $19.60. Copper is up 0.4 percent to $3.20
The euro lost some ground against the dollar in early trading and the dollar is lower against the yen. The euro sits at 1.3509 against the dollar—down about 0.01 percent and the dollar is at 101.19 against the yen—0.44 percent higher.
The pound is 0.3 percent lower against the U.S. currency at 1.627 and the Aussie dollar is at 0.892 against the dollar—roughly flat.
- Notable movers this morning include Verizon VZ, up about 2.5 percent on low pre-market volume, Newmont Mining NEM, up about one percent, and Carnival CCL—also up about one percent.
- Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX reported Q1 EPS of $1.42, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30. Revenue of $2.02 billion beat the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion.
- Sirius XM Radio SIRI reported Q4 EPS of $0.01, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02. Revenue of $1 billion beat the consensus estimate of $981.9 million.
- Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD reported Q4 EPS of $1.10, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07. Revenue of $341.5 million missed the consensus estimate of $346.85 million.
Earnings expected after the closing bell include:
- Twitter is expected to report fourth-quarter EPS of -$0.02 per share on $217.78 million in revenue. Learn more here.
- Walt Disney DIS is expected to report first-quarter EPS of $0.91 on revenue of $12.23 billion. Learn more here.
The ADP Employment report comes out at 8:15 AM ET along with three and 10-year note announcements at 9:00 AM ET. ISM Non-Manufacturing data will hit the market at 10:00 AM and the EIA Petroleum Status report at 10:30 AM.
For a recap of Tuesday's market action, click here.
Tune into Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep show at 8:00 am EST here.
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