Friday, April 04, 2014

Friday Watch

Evening Headlines 
Bloomberg:
  • Hagel Says U.S. Mulls Adding Brigade to Counter Russia. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said permanently stationing an additional U.S. Army brigade in Europe is among options to beef up security as Russian troops remain massed along Ukraine’s eastern border. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has asked its top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, to study “a number of new possibilities, new measures, new options that we and NATO should consider,” Hagel said in an interview today in Honolulu with Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. Asked if those included permanently stationing a third brigade of 5,000 troops in Europe, Hagel said, “That’s all part of the measures that could be considered.”  
  • Asian Stocks Decline Before U.S Employment Report. Asian stocks fell, with the regional equities benchmark index on course to snap its longest winning streak this year, as investors awaited data on U.S. jobs growth. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.2 percent to 138.81 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets opened in China and Hong Kong.
Wall Street Journal:
Fox News:
MarketWatch.com:
  • China central bank: Economy in 'reasonable range'. China's central bank said current domestic economic conditions remain within a "reasonable range," though the economy still faces complicated situations. Domestic price levels are basically steady, but growth continues to slow for some other emerging economies, the People's Bank of China said in a brief statement released Thursday following its quarterly policy meeting.
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Reuters:
  • Emerging markets output growth falls 4th straight month-survey. Business activity across emerging markets fell for the fourth straight month in March, with output contracting in three of the four biggest economies, a survey showed on Friday. HSBC's composite emerging markets index of manufacturing and services purchasing managers' surveys slipped to 50.3 from 51.1 in February, teetering on the 50 threshold that marks the difference between expansion and contraction.
Securities Times:
  • China's Changsha Denies Report on Home Buying Curbs. Changsha Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development denied that the city is discussing possibility of easing property purchase curbs.
Evening Recommendations
  • None of note
Night Trading
  • Asian equity indices are -.50% to unch. on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 124.50 +3.5 basis points.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 89.5 +2.0 basis points.
  • FTSE-100 futures +.35%.
  • S&P 500 futures +.13%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures  +.18%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
  • (AZZ)/.42
  • (KMX)/.53
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • The Change in Non-Farm Payrolls for March is estimated at 200K versus 175K in February.
  • The Unemployment Rate for March is estimated to fall to 6.6% versus 6.7% in February.
  • Average Hourly Earnings for March are estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.4% gain in February.

Upcoming Splits
  • (DEG) 4-for-1
  • (SFUN) 5-for-1
  • (NJ) 2-for-1
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The German Factory Orders report could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.

1 comment:

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