On Friday, General Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of general staff of the armed forces, remarked that the Kremlin would respond to increased activity near the Russian border. He said that Moscow would “take retaliatory measures” as the Western military increases its combat readiness. Russia’s relations with the West have become increasingly worse as the crisis in Ukraine drags on. With Ukraine’s presidential elections approaching on May 25th, some are worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin could make a move to disrupt the elections and dismantle the country.
In other news around the markets:
Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman is moving ahead with her efforts to streamline the company’s portfolio and relieve pressure on its profit margins, but at the cost of its employees. The company is planning to cut 16,000 more jobs, which analysts worry could signal an ongoing trend for the personal computing company; something that has the potential to poorly affect morale.
Google is in the process of developing a new tablet that will be capable of capturing three dimensional images using two back cameras and an infrared depth sensor. The company has said it plans to create around 4,000 prototypes beginning in June.
On Friday, Fitch Ratings upgraded its sovereign rating for Greece to a B from a B-minus. Although the rating still falls in junk territory, it reflects Greece’s improved financials and success in sticking to an EU-IMF approved budget. However, many worry that uncertain parliamentary elections coming up on Sunday could have a negative impact on the nation’s progress. The country could be facing a period of political instability if the its two coalition parties don’t receive the majority of the votes.
After Thailand’s army seized power of the country in a non-violent coup, army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has summoned ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to meet with army officials on Friday morning. Prayuth is working to stabilize the nation after six months of turmoil in the face of international criticism from the US, the UN, the EU, Japan and Australia.
Asian markets were up across the board; the NIKKEI was up 0.87 percent, the Shanghai composite gained 0.66 percent, the Shenzhen composite rose 1.03 percent, the Hang Seng index gained 0.09 percent and the KOSPI rose 0.08 percent.
European Markets
Europe’s markets were mostly lower; the UK’s FTSE lost 0.25 percent, the STOXX 600 was down 0.11 percent and both the German DAX and the Spanish IBEX lost 0.01 percent. However, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.03 percent and Italy’s MIB gained 0.34 percent.
Both Brent and WTI futures were flat on Friday trading at $110.37 per barrel and $103.74 per barrel respectively. Gold and silver were also quiet with gold up 0.01 percent and silver down 0.05 percent. Industrial metals were up across the board with copper up 0.56 percent, aluminum up 1.58 percent and tin up 0.94 percent.
The dollar was riding high on Friday and gained 0.17 percent against the euro and 0.14 percent against the pound. The euro sunk lower, down 0.04 percent against the pound and 0.20 percent against the yen.
Earnings
Notable earnings released on Thursday included:
Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ reported second quarter EPS of $0.88, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.87 on revenue of $27.58 billion.
- Best Buy Co., Inc. BBY reported first quarter EPS of $0.33 on revenue of $9.04 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.32 on revenue of $9.38 billion.
- The GapTD reported first quarter EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $3.77 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $3.73 billion.
- Sears Holdings CorporationSHLD reported a first quarter loss of $2.24 on revenue of $7.88 billion, compared to last year’s loss of $1.54 on revenue of $8.45 billion.
Stocks moving in the Premarket included:
Notable earnings releases expected on Friday include:
Footlocker Inc. FL is expected to report first quarter EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $1.79 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.91 on revenue of $1.64 billion.
Economics
Friday will be a busy day for economic data with releases including German GDP, Italian retail sales, German Ifo business climate index, Canadian CPI and US new home sales.
For a recap of Thursday’s market action, click here.
<p>Tune into Benzinga’s pre-market info show with Dennis Dick and Joel Elconin <a> http://optionshouse.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/ />here</a>.</p>
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