OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
March E-mini S&Ps (ESH14 +0.35%) this morning are up +0.32% at a 2-week high and European stocks are up +0.88% on expectations for dovish commentary from Fed Chair Yellen when she speaks before the House Financial Services Committee later this morning. Asian stocks closed higher: Japan closed for holiday, Hong Kong +1.78%, China +0.80%, Taiwan +0.46%, Australia +0.62%, Singapore +0.39%, South Korea +0.56%, India +0.14%. Emerging-markets rallied and China’s Shanghai Stock Index pushed up to a 1-1/4 month high after JPMorgan recommended Chinese bank stocks and said Chinese equities will probably rally as much as 20% in the coming weeks as gauges of economic growth stabilize and valuations rise from historic lows. Commodity prices are mixed. Mar crude oil (CLH14 +0.10%) is up +0.31%. Mar gasoline (RBH14 +0.43%) is up +0.66%. Apr gold (GCJ14 +0.74%) is up +0.77% at a 2-1/2 month high as the dollar weakens. March copper (HGH14 -0.16%) is up +0.05%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.18%) is down -0.13% at a 1-1/2 week low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.14% at a 1-1/2 week high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.10%. The British pound climbed to a 1-week high against the dollar after a gauge of UK retail sales rose more than expected last month. March T-note prices (ZNH14 -0.07%) are down -2.5 ticks.
ECB Governing Council member Liikanen said a negative deposit rate is one of the tools the ECB could use if “short term volatility” in money markets “propagates to long term” of if the inflation outlook worsens. “If this happens, we will take appropriate action.”
The UK Jan BRC sales monitor like-for-like sales climbed +3.9% y/y, well above expectations of +0.8% y/y and the biggest increase in 2-3/4 years.
U.S. STOCK PREVIEW
Fed Chair Janet Yellen today will present her semi-annual testimony to the House Financials Services Committee. The Treasury today will sell $30 billion of 3-year T-notes. There are 16 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today. Notable reports include PG&E (consensus $0.42), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (2.09), ICE Exchange (1.95), CVS Caremark (1.11), Mosaic (0.43), Ingersoll-Rand (0.61), TripAdvisor (0.21), and Fossil Group (2.43).
Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Stifel Nicolaus Technology, Internet & Media Conference on Mon-Wed, Medicare Congress on Mon-Tue, Stifel Nicolaus Transportation and Logistics Conference on Tue-Wed, Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference on Tue-Thu, Credit Suisse Global Energy Summit on Tue-Thu, Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum on Tue-Wed, E&P Information & Data Management on Wed, Cleantech Innovation Summit on Wed, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Insurance Conference on Wed-Thu, BB&T Capital Markets Transportation Services Conference on Wed-Thu, Leerink Swann Global Healthcare Conference on Wed-Thu, and Sterne Agee Financial Institutions Investor Conference on Thu.
