Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- EFSF Sells 8 Billion Euros of Bonds on Strong Demand in Asia. The
European Financial Stability
Facility issued 8 billion euros ($10.5 billion) of bonds amid
strong investor demand in Asia, helping boost the euro to its highest
levels in more than three weeks. The European rescue fund sold 0.875
percent, five-year
securities yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Investors in Asia made up 29 percent of the buyer base, up from
5 percent on EFSF’s 4 billion euros of March 2016 bonds issued
in February, according to a person familiar with the
transaction, who asked not to be identified citing lack of
authorization to speak publicly.
- Cyprus Can Save Itself by Fleeing the Euro.
- BHP(BHP) CFO Says China Growth May Slow Toward 6% After Two Years. BHP
Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s biggest mining company, expects annual
economic growth in China to moderate toward 6 percent, saying prospects
in its largest
customer present its main business risk.
- China Export Gains Miss Forecasts for First Time in Four Months.
China’s exports rose less than forecast for the first time in four
months, leaving the world’s second-largest economy with weaker global
demand to support a recovery than previous figures indicated. Shipments
abroad increased 10 percent from a year earlier, the customs
administration said today in Beijing. That compares with 21.8 percent
growth in February and the 11.7 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg
News survey of 36 economists. Imports
rose by an above-forecast 14.1 percent in March, leaving an
unexpected trade deficit of $880 million.
- Bird Flu Outbreak Tied to Viruses That Hit Humans Hard. China’s deadly avian flu outbreak is being driven by at
least two closely-related viruses, a situation that may make it more
difficult to contain in humans and birds, researchers said. The
H7N9 flu has shown signs of genetic diversity since the first three
patients were diagnosed, said Richard Webby, director of a World Health
Organization collaborating center for the virus at St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital in Memphis. It already appears more infectious than
the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has been circulating since 2003,
infecting 600 people and killing 60 percent of them, he said. Scientists
from around the world are working together to understand the virus
because of the potential devastation caused by novel infections. The
pandemics of the past century include the 1918 Spanish flu that killed
as many as 50 million people and the 2003 SARS outbreak that killed 774.
- Chinese Stocks Fall After March Trade Data; Drugmakers Drop. China’s
stocks fell for the fifth time in six days, dragged down by health-care
companies, after exports rose less than forecast.
Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co., whose products are
included in a government list of drugs to combat bird flu,
tumbled 6.8 percent as a measure of drugmakers dropped the most
among industry groups.
- Bill Gross Raises Holdings of Treasuries to Highest Since July. Bill Gross raised the holdings of
Treasuries held in his $289 billion flagship fund at Pacific
Investment Management Co. to 33 percent of assets last month,
the highest level since July. Gross boosted the proportion of U.S. government securities
in Pimco’s Total Return Fund from 28 percent in February,
according to a report on the company’s website. Gross has been
advising investors to buy government debt, including inflation-
linked securities and nominal Treasuries as the Bank of Japan (8301)
last week became the latest central bank to announce
unprecedented stimulus measures.
Wall Street Journal:
- Lenders Used Aid to Repay TARP. A number of small banks used $2.1 billion in government cash intended to
boost small-business lending to repay bailout funds from the financial
crisis, a government watchdog said Tuesday in a report that also
concluded the banks lent less money than firms that didn't take bailout
aid. Among the 332 banks participating in a small-business lending program
run by the U.S. Treasury, 137 used more than half of about $4 billion
disbursed by the program to help fund their exits from the Troubled
Asset Relief Program, according to a new report by the special inspector
general for TARP. The TARP program was set up to bail out financial
firms during the 2008 crisis.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
ABC News:
- Insolvent Union Pension Plans May Double By 2017. A new government report warned that the number of insolvent multiemployer
private-sector pension plans could more than double by 2017. The report,
issued by the Government Accountability Office, included the survey
results of 107 multiemployer plans, 25 percent of which were delaying
eventual insolvency. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974, the
benefits of multiemployer plans are insured by the Pension Benefit
Guaranty
Corp., a U.S. government agency that works to protect private-sector
defined
benefit pension plans. There are about 1,500 multiemployer plans covering more than 10 million
workers and retirees, the GAO said.
Telegraph:
- George Soros repeats call for Germany to leave euro. George Soros, the billionaire investor, has urged Germany to reverse its
position on eurobonds or consider leaving the single currency, as he
suggested that the euro's prospects would be improved if its most powerful
member were to quit.
Nikkei:
- Japan to Maintain Economic Assessment in April. Japanese government plans to keep its monthly economic assessment for the first time in four months. Japan raised economic assessment in March for the third month.
China Securities Journal:
- China
Risks Collapse on Outflow, Yu Yongding Says. Unexpected outflows
without capital account control will lead to massive capital flights,
currency depreciation, inflation, asset-bubble bursts, bankruptcy, debt
default and finally the collapse of China's financial system, Yu
Yongding, a former academic adviser to the People's Bank of China, wrote
in a commentary.
Evening Recommendations
Piper Jaffray:
- Raised (AEO) to Overweight, target $24.
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to +.50% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 116.75 -1.25 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 94.25 -2.25 basis points.
- NASDAQ 100 futures -.02%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (STZ)/.45
- (FDO)/1.22
- (FAST)/.37
- (KMX)/.45
- (BBBY)/1.68
- (RT)/.10
- (ADTN)/.10
- (PGR)/.44
Economic Releases
10:30 am EST
- Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory build of +1,500,000 barrels versus a +2,707,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,500,000 barrels versus a -572,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,500,000 barrels versus a -2,266,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.2% versus a +.6% gain the prior week.
2:00 pm EST
- The Monthly Budget Deficit for March is estimated at -$107.0B versus -$198.2B in February.
- FOMC Minutes from March 19/20 Meeting
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed's Fisher speaking, Fed's Kocherlakota speaking, Fed's Lockhart speaking, Eurozone industrial production data, China Trade data, White House budget release, 10Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA mortgage applications report, USDA report, Bloomberg April Economic Survey, (AAP) investor day and the (IHS) investor day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by automaker and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.
Today's Market Take:
Broad Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: About Even
- Sector Performance: Most Sectors Rising
- Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
- ISE Sentiment Index 133.0 +11.76%
- Total Put/Call .86 -5.49%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 84.74 -.88%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 168.60 +.30%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 102.33 -.98%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 236.85 -1.47%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 14.5 -.25 bp
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -16.25 +.75 bp
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .06% unch.
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $139.10/Metric Tonne +1.09%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index 4.50 +1.6 points
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.45 -1 bp
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating +182 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating +32 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Higher: On gains in my tech/medical/biotech sector longs
- Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
- Market Exposure: Moved to 50% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- German Exports Fell in February Amid Euro-Area Recession. German exports fell more than
economists forecast in February as the euro area, the country’s
biggest trading partner, struggled to emerge from recession. Exports, adjusted for working days and seasonal changes,
dropped 1.5 percent from January, when they gained 1.3 percent,
the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today.
Economists forecast a 0.3 percent decline, according to the
median of 15 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Imports fell
3.8 percent. Shipments from Germany to the euro area dropped 4.1 percent
in February from a year ago, while those to the European Union
decreased 3.4 percent. Exports to non-EU members fell 1.9
percent, today’s report showed.
- European Stocks Are Little Changed; Lagardere Falls. European (SXXP) stocks climbed as mining shares rallied and Alcoa Inc. began the U.S. earnings season
with profit that beat analysts’ estimates.
- Fitch Cuts China Yuan Debt Rating on Local Government Borrowing. Fitch
Ratings Ltd. cut China’s long- term local-currency debt rating, citing
increasing risks to the country’s financial stability given the lack of
transparency in
the increased borrowing of local governments. Fitch lowered the rating to “A+”, its fifth-highest
level, from “AA-,” the London-based company said in an e-
mailed statement today. The company estimates total credit in
China’s economy, including various forms of so-called shadow
banking, may have reached 198 percent of gross domestic product
at the end of 2012, up from 125 percent at end-2008. “Fitch believes Chinese LGs likely have significant
additional contingent liabilities arising from debts of LG-
linked corporates,” the company said, referring to local
governments in China. “The classification of lending between
corporate and LG sectors have been opaque. Lack of transparency
over the indebtedness of LGs is a shortcoming for China relative
to peers.”
- China Surging Wages Threaten Economy’s Competitiveness, ADB Says. China’s
surging wages and other
costs are showing signs of undermining the competitiveness of
the nation’s economy, threatening its growth potential, the Asian
Development Bank said. Average inflation-adjusted wages have more than
tripled in a decade and non-wage costs for procedures such as hiring and
firing have risen since the introduction of a 2008 labor law, the
ADB said in a report published today. The labor market is being squeezed
across the nation as the pool of working-age people shrank last year.
At stake is China’s position as the world’s biggest producer of low-cost
goods, while competitors from Vietnam to Mexico stand to gain as
investors seek to relocate to countries that have cheaper labor or are
closer to big markets in the U.S. and Europe. “Rapid aging of the
population is taking its toll on the labor market,” Hamid L. Sharif, the
ADB’s country director for China, said at a press briefing in Beijing.
“Unless compensated
by rising labor productivity, high wages would erode the
economy’s competitiveness and growth potential, hampering
government development plans.”
- N. Korea Threats Boost Odds of First BOK Rate Cut Since October. North
Korea’s threats are raising the odds of the first interest-rate cut by
its southern neighbor since October as they threaten to damp business
and consumer sentiment in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
- Egypt Pope Criticizes Mursi Over Sectarian Clashes Response. Egypt’s Coptic pope criticized the
Islamist president’s handling of the worst sectarian clashes in
months, and demanded stronger action against violence that has
deepened the nation’s rifts. Days of Muslim-Christian fighting outside a Coptic
cathedral in Cairo and in a nearby town have left at least eight
dead, most of them Christians. President Mohamed Mursi demanded
an investigation into the violence, vowed the perpetrators would
be brought to justice and ordered the revival of a little-known
body charged with tackling discrimination.
- Corn Boom Goes Bust With U.S. Sales in Record Drop: Commodities. The
record collapse in U.S. corn
exports and shrinking domestic demand are leaving more grain in
silos, spurring a bear market just eight months after drought
drove prices to an all-time high. Stockpiles will be 836 million bushels
(21.2 million metric tons) on Aug. 31, or 32 percent more than the U.S.
Department of Agriculture forecast last month, according to the
average of 35 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Export sales from
the world’s largest grower and shipper fell 54 percent in the year that
began Sept. 1, heading for the biggest annual drop in
government data that starts in 1960.
- Gold, Silver Gain on Bets Central Banks Will Add More Stimulus. Gold rallied to a one-week high on
speculation that central bankers in the world’s major economies
will take additional steps to spur growth, boosting demand for
the precious metal as a store of value. Silver jumped.
- Lacker Says Government Should Be Ready to Let Big Banks Fail. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
President Jeffrey Lacker said plans to limit the size or change
the structure of the largest financial institutions must be made
with the intent of allowing a failure without government aid. “It makes perfect sense to constrain the scale and scope
of financial firms in a way that ensures that they can be
resolved in an orderly manner, without government protection for
creditors,” Lacker told a conference at the University of
Richmond.
Fox News:
- 14 injured in knife attack on Lone Star College campus, suspect arrested. Over 12 people were stabbed Tuesday on the campus of Lone Star
Community College campus in Cypress, Texas, after a male suspect
reportedly used a small knife, ran from building to building and
randomly attacked individuals along the way. Harris Country Sheriff Adrian Garcia says the suspect, described as a
young white male, has been taken into custody. No further information
about the suspect or about the weapon has been released as the
investigation is still active and ongoing.
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
New York Times:
- Prosecutors Said to Be Investigating Tips at KPMG Involving Herbalife(HLF) and Skechers(SKX).
Federal prosecutors and securities regulators in Los Angeles are
investigating a former senior partner at KPMG for leaking secret
information to a stock trader, according to people with direct knowledge
of the inquiry. The case involves alleged tips about confidential data
related to Herbalife, the nutritional-supplement seller, and Skechers
USA, the footwear maker, according to these people. On Tuesday morning,
both Herbalife and Skechers announced that KPMG had resigned as their
auditor.
Reuters:
- ECB's Asmussen sees growing risks for H2 recovery. European
Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said on Tuesday
there were more downside risks to a recovery of the euro zone economy in
the second half of the year than one or two months ago. His comments
further fuelled expectations that the ECB is getting ready to cut
interest rates further, following last
week's comments by ECB President Mario Draghi that the bank
would "monitor very closely" all data and stands "ready to act". "There are more downside risks to a recovery in the second
half of the year than four or eight weeks ago," Asmussen said in
a speech in Nuertingen.
Telegraph:
Yonhap News:
- North Korea completed preparation for mid-range missile launch,
citing South Korean govt officials. North Korea is technically able to
launch missile as early as tomorrow.
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Homebuilders -.83% 2) Restaurants -.68% 3) Hospitals -.65%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- BOFI, IRDM, FLO, MA, CMG, DEO, SONC, STWD, MG, JCP, SHLM, TTEK, ESS, FCN, OIS, VIPS, CNQR, AAP, PDCO, BG, DEO, FIRE, RLGY, QCOR, DLTR and STWD
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) TJX 2) EWJ 3) LOW 4) TXN 5) PHM
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) STJ 2) PDCO 3) MA 4) HLF 5) A
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Gold & Silver +3.8% 2) Steel +3.08% 3) Alt Energy +.93%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- NIHD, SNFCA, VHC, ANV, RIO and CLF
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) IRM 2) CIEN 3) NUAN 4) JDSU 5) KERX
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) MAKO 2) JEC 3) RS 4) AGU 5) LMT
Charts:
Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Developing Asia Rebound Faces Risk From Capital Flows, ADB Says. Developing Asia’s growth recovery
faces the risk of asset bubbles from rising capital inflows, the Asian Development Bank said. Gross domestic product will increase 6.6 percent in 2013
and 6.7 percent next year, the Manila-based lender said in its
Asian Development Outlook 2013 released today. Consumer prices
will rise 4 percent in 2013 and 4.2 percent next year, it said.
- China Failed Mining Deals Top $45 Billion on Hanlong Bungle. Sichuan Hanlong Group’s botched $1.2
billion bid for Australia’s Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL) brings the
value of China’s recent failed mining deals to $45 billion, a
record that’s prompted stricter Chinese scrutiny of acquisitions. Chinese companies attempted $107 billion worth of mining
takeovers over the past five years, with about $45 billion, or
42 percent by value, of deals ending in failure. Of $562 billion
of deals proposed globally in the same period, $180 billion, or
32 percent, didn’t proceed, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
- Rogers Says North Korea’s Kim Likely to Cause ‘Skirmish’.
North Korea will probably carry out a small military
attack in the region so the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, can brandish
his power, the chairman of the U.S. House intelligence panel said today.
“I do think there will be some small skirmish before this is over,”
Representative Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, said in an interview
at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. North Korea has threatened
to carry out pre-emptive nuclear strikes against
the U.S. and South Korea, a move that escalated tensions in the region
and prompted calls for dialogue. “I almost think
they are looking for some small engagement so that he can brandish his
credentials with the military,” Rogers said. He called Kim’s behavior
“brazen” and said the new dictator is surrounded by “hardliners.”
- North Korea Acts a Clear Threat, U.S. Commander to Tell Congress. North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles
poses a “direct threat” to the U.S. and its allies, a top U.S. military
commander plans to tell Congress today amid rising tensions on the
Korean peninsula. The situation, fanned by hostile
rhetoric from dictator Kim Jong Un, “creates an environment marked by
the potential for miscalculation” and military escalation, Admiral
Samuel Locklear, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in prepared
testimony for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Efforts by
Kim’s regime to build and test nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles
violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and “represent a
clear and direct threat to U.S. national security and regional peace and
stability,” Locklear said in his testimony.
- Bernanke Says Interest on Reserves Would Be Main Tightening Tool. Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed will raise the interest
rate on excess reserves as its primary tool for tightening monetary
policy rather than selling assets from its balance sheet. “The
principal tool that we contemplate is the interest rate paid on excess
reserves,” Bernanke said today in response to audience questions at a
conference in Stone Mountain, Georgia. During a tightening, money market
rates will probably
stay close to the interest rate on excess reserves, he said.
- J.C. Penney(JCP) Ousts CEO Johnson, Brings Back Ullman. J.C. Penney Co. ousted Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson and
reinstated his predecessor, Myron E. Ullman III, as the department-store
chain works to rebound from its worst sales year in more than two
decades. The shares slid in late trading.
Wall Street Journal:
- China's Xi Says Fast Growth Over. Chinese President Xi Jinping said China's days of breakneck growth are
over as the world's No. 2 economy tries to balance expansion with
sustainability and increasing environmental awareness. Speaking before business leaders at the Boao Forum for Asia in
southern China on Monday, Mr. Xi said "it's not impossible to grow
faster," but added, "we don't want to grow too fast." "I don't think China can sustain super-high or ultra-high-speed
growth," he said, citing the need to balance economic growth with other
issues. He said China's slowdown last year to 7.8% economic growth is
"partially due to our efforts to control the speed of growth."
Fox News:
- As support for gun bill filibuster grows, Obama says backers trying to use 'political stunts'. The White House lashed out Monday at Republican lawmakers threatening
to filibuster gun control legislation in the Senate, accusing them of
trying to pull “political stunts” and "hide" behind procedural maneuvers
-- as support for the filibuster continued to grow. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, announced early Monday that 13 senators had
signed a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid threatening to oppose "any
legislation that would infringe on the American people's constitutional
right to bear arms."
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
New York Times:
- Exchanges Are Moving to Curb Private Trades. The chief executives of the three largest stock exchanges are joining
forces for the first time to push regulators to rein in the increasing
amount of trading that is moving off public exchanges and onto platforms
like so-called dark pools. The leaders of the New York Stock
Exchange, Nasdaq and BATS Global Markets, the third largest exchange
operator, are planning to meet on Tuesday with officials of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people briefed on the
meeting.
Reuters:
- N.Koreans don't show for work at Kaesong factory park. North Korean labourers did not
show up for work on Tuesday at a factory complex operated with
South Korea, companies with operations there said, effectively
shutting down the zone for the first time since it began
shipments in 2004.
Pyongyang's decision to halt work at the Kaesong industrial
park coincided with speculation it would carry out a missile
launch, or even another nuclear test, in what has become one of
the worst periods of tension on the peninsula since the end of
the Korean War in 1953.
- GM(GM) cuts S.Korean output due to weak Chevy sales in Europe. General Motors Co plans to
deepen cuts to output at one of its South Korean plants in April
to cope with lacklustre sales in Europe, a company official said
on Tuesday.
GM's South Korean unit will idle its plant in the
southwestern city of Gunsan for nine days this month, up from
six days in March, the official said.
- U.S. watchdog subpoenas swaps association over benchmark. The top U.S. derivatives
regulator is probing a widely used benchmark for swaps, the
trade body overseeing the rate said, dealing a further blow to
the market after the sprawling Libor probe.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has subpoenaed the
International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) over its ISDAfix
benchmark, widely used to anchor market rates, a spokeswoman for ISDA
said. Bloomberg reported on Monday that the CFTC was investigating
derivatives broker ICAP Plc and as many as 15 banks in a probe into the
possible manipulation of the benchmark.
- Alcoa(AA) profit rises, but price concerns linger. Alcoa
Inc, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported a higher quarterly
profit on Monday thanks in part to strength at its raw materials
segment, but lower-than-expected revenue and an uncertain outlook
dragged down the company's share price. Stubbornly low aluminum prices have weighed on the company's business of mining bauxite, refining it into alumina and
smelting alumina to produce aluminum.
- New Medicare cuts threaten U.S. non-profit hospitals -Moody's. Not-for-profit U.S.
hospitals began confronting another threat to their shaky
finances last week with the start of reductions to Medicare that are included in the universal federal spending cuts known as sequestration, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.
Sankei:
- North
Korea May Fire Missile as Soon as April 10. North Korea told British,
Russian, and some other embassies in Pyongyang on April 5 it may fire
missile over Japan to the Pacific Ocean side as soon as tomorrow, citing
people familiar with the situation.
Japan Daily Press:
- Japan deploys rockets in Tokyo, readies to shoot down North Korean missiles. Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missile launchers have
been deployed to the defence ministry in Tokyo in preparation for any North Korean attack.
The government has authorized Japan’s armed forces to shoot down any
missile that will be heading towards the territory. These are part of
Japan’s defense preparations as North Korea continues to make threats
towards South Korea, the United States and its allies in the region.
China Securities Journal:
- Chinese first-tier cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and
Shenzhen are expected to raise down payment requirements for second
homes, following Beijing, citing people familiar with the situation.
- China's
Polysilicon Oversupply to Last 1-2 Years. Supplies in the domestic
market are expected to increase because of rising output by Chinese
makers following Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on
foreign products, citing a report from the country's silicon association.
- China
Iron Ore Prices to Fall on Oversupply. Iron ore prices are expected to
fall because oversupplies in steel and raw material markets will
continue, citing a report from the China Iron and Steel Association.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.75% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 118.0 -3.0 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 96.5 -.75 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.21%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
7:30 am EST
- The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for March is estimated to fall to 89.8 versus 90.8 in February.
10:00 am EST
- Wholesale Inventories for February are estimated to rise +.5% versus a +1.2% gain in January.
- JOLTs Job Openings for February are estimated to rise to 3740 versus 3693 in January.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed's Lacker speaking, Fed's Lockhart speaking, Eurozone Trade data, 3Y T-Note auction, weekly retail sales reports and the (FSLR) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by commodity and real estate shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.
