Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Biotech -4.56% 2) Internet -3.40% 3) Gaming -3.10%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- LNKD, FB, SHW, YHOO, NOW, CSOD, N, PCLN, KMX, PANW, SNMX, WMC, AMTD,
GPN, ETFC, WDAY, NVDQ, YELP, K, BIB, RTRX, NOW, GOOG, TQQQ, VEEV, FEYE,
ICPT, DATA, AMZN, SRNE, QQQ, IBB, SPSC, MGAM, KCG, ISRG, SPLK, GPRE, GPN, NMBL, PODD, TRIP, AWAY, WMC, UA, P, CIEN, ACAD, FNGN, KCG, DWRE, CTCT and VEEV
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) ETFC 2) AMTD 3) APC 4) UTX 5) VMW
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) MA 2) PRU 3) SCHW 4) PCLN 5) TWTR
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Gold & Silver +2.07% 2) Utilities +1.38% 3) Steel +1.35%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- EXAS, TROX, MYL, PBPB, CX, ALGN, ARUN and RAX
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) HALO 2) RAX 3) GNK 4) QLIK 5) MYL
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) DUK 2) GOOG 3) VZ 4) AMGN 5) MU
Charts:
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
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.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.18%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
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
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.
Broad Equity Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: Substantially Lower
- Sector Performance: Most Sectors Declining
- Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 13.68 +4.51%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 148.61 -.39%
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 8.46 +1.08%
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 53.36 +.57%
- ISE Sentiment Index 99.0 -10.81%
- Total Put/Call .86 +32.31%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 66.87 -.64%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 88.49 -3.11%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 43.86 -1.86%
- Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt CDS Index 89.89 +2.77%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 288.95 +.13%
- China Blended Corporate Spread Index 350.68 -.91%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 12.25 +1.0 basis point
- TED Spread 21.50 +.5 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -1.25 +2.0 basis point
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .02% unch.
- Yield Curve 234.0 -1.0 basis point
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $115.50/Metric Tonne +.17%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index -41.80 -9.0 points
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -6.70 +1.5 point
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.15 unch.
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating +13 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating +7 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my medical sector longs, index hedges and emerging markets shorts
- Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
- Market Exposure: Moved to 25% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Draghi Says Officials Debate QE to Fight Deflation Risk.
Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank is ready to move deeper
into uncharted territory in the fight against deflation, with policy
makers debating what form of quantitative easing they might need to use.
“There was a discussion about QE, it wasn’t neglected,” the ECB
president said at a press conference in Frankfurt today after keeping
the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record-low 0.25 percent.
“There are obviously different preferences
about which QE would be more effective. We will continue working
on that in the coming weeks.”
- Draghi Quips IMF Should Extend Its ‘Generous’ Advice to Fed.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi mused today that the
International Monetary Fund offers public opinions on how he should
conduct monetary policy in a way that it doesn’t with the Federal
Reserve. Asked about comments yesterday by IMF Managing Director
Christine Lagarde, he told reporters in Frankfurt that the fund has been
“extremely generous in its suggestions on what we
should do or not do.” Draghi said that “frankly, I would like
the IMF to be as generous as they’ve been towards us with also
other monetary policy jurisdictions, like for instance issuing
statements just a day before an FOMC meeting would take place.”
- NATO Condemns Russia’s ‘Propaganda’ as Lavrov Cries Foul. NATO
accused Russia of spreading “propaganda” after Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said the U.S.-led alliance broke a commitment to limit its forces
in eastern European countries. Russia, not NATO, is trampling on
pledges made in the 1990s by wresting control of Crimea and massing
troops near Ukraine’s borders, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters today in Brussels. “This is just another piece of Russian propaganda and
disinformation,” Rasmussen said. “Russia is violating every
principle and international commitment it has made, first and
foremost the commitment not to invade other countries.”
- As Russia Stumbles, Gazprom Comes Up $910 Billion Short.
Back in April 2007, in the midst of the greatest commodities rally on
record, OAO Gazprom’s (OGZD) deputy chief executive officer, Alexander
Medvedev, was talking big. Russia’s natural-gas export monopoly aspired
to be the world’s largest company, he said while offering up a
prediction: its market value would quadruple to $1
trillion in as little as seven years.
- Emerging-Market Stocks Halt Nine-Day Advance on Warning.
Emerging-market stocks fell,
snapping a nine-day advance, amid concern that the crisis in Ukraine
will escalate after NATO leaders warned Russia has troops on a high
state of readiness on its neighbor’s border. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 0.5 percent to 999.65 at 1:12 p.m. New York.
- Europe Stocks Little Changed as Draghi Reiterates Pledge. Stocks in Europe were little
changed, after climbing for seven days, as European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi said policy makers are prepared to add
further measures to support the euro-area economy if necessary. BTG Plc added 1 percent after saying annual sales will be
near the top of its forecast range. A gauge of European banks
climbed to its highest level since January. Nokian Renkaat Oyj
slipped 2.7 percent after cutting its 2014 profit and sales
estimates because of weaker Russian demand. Pernod Ricard SA
fell 1.2 percent as Credit Suisse Group AG recommended selling
the stock.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.1 percent to 337.25
at the close of trading.
- Brent Crude Rises From Five-Month Low on Libya.
WTI for May delivery climbed 41 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $100.03 a barrel
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched $99.07 in intraday
trading before rebounding. The volume of all futures traded was 15
percent below the 100-day average.
- ABS: Yield Hunt Boosts
Subprime Auto Bonds, Room to Run, DB Says. Subprime auto ABS continues
to benefit from the hunt for yield, Deutsche Bank analysts Elen Callahan
and Kayvan Darouian write. Many deals oversubscribed, often upsized.
Investors comfortable with asset's recent performance are moving down to
first-loss piece for yield.
Fox News:
CNBC:
- Sotheby's? The best indicator you've never heard of. (video) Need proof of a speculative bubble? Closely watched hedge
fund manager Jim Chanos says he has the best barometer for gauging where
1 percenters are putting their money, given the Federal Reserve's easy
money policies that have been fueling their portfolios to record highs.
- China 'panicking' in face of sluggish growth: Chanos. (video) Short-seller
Jim Chanos says China is "panicking" in the face of a stalling economy.
As the fast-growing economy now deals with a lending bubble, Chanos
told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday his long-running bearish outlook is
now coming to fruition.
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Boston Globe:
- Biotech sector fears financial squeeze. As
the pressure to make health care more affordable mounts,
Massachusetts biotech companies and medical device makers are warning
that lower costs for consumers could be bad for business. Companies and
investors in the life sciences cluster — a crucial part
of the state’s economy — say that new restrictions on payments for
drugs and other medical products will stifle innovation and harm
patients, according to a report scheduled to be released Thursday at a state biotechnology gathering. In some ways, it puts the industry at odds with what has become a
paramount social cause: providing medical care for everyone at
reasonable prices. But the companies say their products, though costly,
save money in the long term by keeping people out of the hospital. If companies can no longer make reasonable returns on their investments,
“this entire sector could disappear overnight,” said Harvard Business
School professor Vicki Sato, a molecular and cell biology specialist who
advised Health Advances on the study.
Focus News:
Reuters:
Telegraph:
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Biotech -3.33% 2) I-Banks -2.03% 3) Software -1.75%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- LQDT, KIN, BKS, CACI, GBX, BWEN, AMTD, PEIX, KWEB, MANT, ETFC, GLOG, INDY, DXYN, EXAS, TNET, INSM, SNN, YELP, WDAY, IVZ, BNFT, REX, FEYE, RTRX, THRX, PBPB, MNTA, NMBL, SNMX, SPLK and EXAS
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) ETFC 2) GLW 3) DECK 4) AKAM 5) GPS
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) C 2) SBUX 3) UA 4) ETFC 5) BZH
Charts:
