Live Index – Fri, 20 Nov 2015 Premarket

December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ15 +0.23%) are up +0.20%, led by a 3% increase in Nike after the company approved a $ 12 billion stock buyback program and increased its dividend, while European stocks are down -0.12%, led by weakness in bank stocks as Barclays Plc fell over 2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to ‘Equal weight’ from ‘Overweight.’ Losses in European stocks were limited as 10-year German bunds rallied to a 3-week high and EUR/USD fell after ECB President Draghi hinted that the slow pace of inflation may require additional monetary easing from the ECB. Asian stocks settled mostly higher: Japan +0.10%, Hong Kong +1.13%, China +0.37%, Taiwan -0.14%, Australia +0.26%, Singapore -0.07%, South Korea unch, India +0.10%.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.39%) is up +0.30%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.56% after ECB President Draghi said that the slow pace of inflation may require additional stimulus from the ECB. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.02%.

Dec T-note prices (ZNZ15 -0.01%) are down -1 tick.

Comments from ECB President Mario Draghi suggest the ECB is worried about the slow pace of inflation and may be ready to expand stimulus when it meets in 2 weeks as he said “if we decide that the balance of risks to our medium-term price stability objective is skewed to the downside, we will act by using all the instruments available within our mandate.”

German Oct PPI fell-0.4% m/m and -2.3% y/y, weaker than expectations of -0.2% and -2.0% y/y with the -2.3% y/y drop the largest year-over-year decline in 5-1/2 years.

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) St. Louis Fed President James Bullard’s speech on the economy to the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, (2) Nov Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity (expected +1 to 0, Oct +7 to -1), (3) New York Fed President William Dudley speaks about the economy to students at Hofstra University.

There are 2 of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: Foot Locker (consensus $ 0.95), Sirona Dental Systems (1.10).

U.S. IPO’s scheduled to price today: Builders FirstSource (BLDR).

Equity conferences this week include: UBS Industrials and Transportation Conference on Thu-Fri.

Nike (NKE unch) climbed over 3% in pre-market trading after its board approved a new 4-year, $ 12 billion share buyback program, and raised its dividend to 32 cents from 28 cents.

Intuit (INTU +0.83%) rose nearly 8% in after-hours trading after it said it sees fiscal year Q2 revenue of $ 880 million-$ 900 million, well above consensus of $ 826.7 million, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2016 EPS to $ 3.45-$ 3.50 from a previous estimate of $ 3.40-$ 3.45, above consensus of $ 3.43.

Autodesk (ADSK +1.86%) fell nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 14 cents, better than consensus of 8 cents, but then lowered guidance on Q4 revenue to $ 620 million-$ 640 million, below consensus of $ 640.8 million.

Ross Stores (ROST -0.47%) jumped over 8% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 53 cents, higher than consensus of 50 cents, after Q3 comparable sales rose +3.0%, better than consensus of +2.3%.

The Gap (GPS -1.18%) slipped nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS to $ 2.38-$ 2.42 from an August estimate of $ 2.75-$ 2.80, below consensus of $ 2.50.

Williams-Sonoma (WSM -0.79%) dropped over 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 comparable sales up +4.5%, weaker than consensus of +5.2%, and forecast Q4 net revenue of $ 1.575 billion-$ 1.63 billion, below consensus of $ 1.65 billion.

Centene (CNC -8.41%) rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it said its Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM) business “continues to perform in line with expectations.”

Nimble Storage (NMBL -0.78%) plunged over 30% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q3 adjusted EPS loss of -14 cents, a bigger loss than consensus of -8 cents, and lowered guidance on Q4 revenue to $ 87 million-$ 90.0 million, below consensus of $ 99.3 million.

Workday (WDAY +0.74%) dropped over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q3 adjusted EPS loss of -41 cents, a much wider loss than consensus of -4 cents.

Cabela’s (CAB +0.94%) rose nearly 8% in after-hours trading after unidentified sources said the company is fielding potential takeover interest and weighing whether to begin a sales process.

Zoe’s Kitchen (ZOES +3.98%) slid over 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 5 cents, better than consensus of 3 cents, but said Q3 comparable sales were up +4.5%, less than estimates of +5.4%.

Dec E-mini S&Ps (ESZ15 +0.23%) this morning are up +4.25 points (+0.20%). Thursday’s closes: S&P 500 -0.11%, Dow Jones -0.02%, Nasdaq +0.04%. The S&P 500 on Thursday rose to a 1-week high but fell back and closed slightly lower. Stocks were undercut by weakness in health-care stocks after UnitedHealth slumped by more than 5% after it said it may pull out of the Affordable Care Act because of high costs. There was also weakness in energy producers after the price of crude oil fell to a 2-3/4 month low. Stocks received a boost from (1) the +6.4 point increase in the Nov Philadelphia Fed manufacturing outlook index to 1.9, stronger than expectations of +4.0 to -0.5, and (2) the +0.6% gain in the U.S. Oct leading indicators, stronger than expectations of +0.5.

Dec 10-year T-notes (ZNZ15 -0.01%) this morning are down -1 tick. Thursday’s closes: TYZ5 +4.00, FVZ5 +0.75. Dec T-note prices on Thursday closed higher on positive carryover from Wednesday’s FOMC minutes that said that any interest rate increases would be gradual. There was also carryover strength from a rally in German bunds to a 3-week high after ECB Executive Board member Praet said he sees confirmation of downside risks in the global economy.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.39%) this morning is up +0.295 (+0.30%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0060 (-0.56%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.02 (-0.02%). Thursday’s closes: Dollar Index -0.663 (-0.67%), EUR/USD +0.0074 (+0.69%), USD/JPY -0.77 (-0.62%). The dollar index on Thursday closed lower on negative carryover from Wednesday’s minutes of the Oct 27-28 FOMC meeting that stated any Fed rate hikes would be gradual. In addition, the yen found support and USD/JPY retreated when the BOJ refrained from expanding stimulus after their 2-day policy meeting and said “inflation expectations appear to be rising.”

Dec crude oil (CLZ15 -1.33%) this morning is down -54 cents (-1.33%) and Dec gasoline (RBZ15 -0.89%) is down -0.0124 (-0.96%). Thursday’s closes: CLZ5 -0.26 (-0.64%), RBZ5 +0.0218 (+1.72%). Dec crude oil and gasoline on Thursday settled mixed with Dec crude at a 2-3/4 month low. Crude oil was undercut by negative carryover from Wednesday’s EIA inventory data that showed a +1.5 million bbl increase in crude stockpiles at Cushing, more than expectations of +1.1 million bbl. Gasoline closed higher on strength in demand from refiners after the crack spread rose to a 1-week high.