Live Index – Tue, 19 Jan 2016 Premarket

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH16 +1.48%) are up sharply by +1.71% and European stocks are up +2.29% as crude oil and copper rose, which boosted energy, mining and raw material producing stocks. A +3.22% rally in China’s Shanghai Composite also gave global bourses a boost, and European stocks also garnered support from a smaller-than-expected decline in German investor sentiment as seen in the Jan ZEW survey. Asian stocks settled higher: Japan +0.55%, Hong Kong +2.07%, China +3.22%, Taiwan +0.56%, Australia +0.91%, Singapore +1.75%, South Korea +0.65%, India +1.21%. Chinese stocks closed higher on speculation of buying by state-owned funds along with the outlook that China will boost stimulus measures after Chinese data showed weaker-than-expected industrial production, retail sales and GDP growth.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.25%) is up +0.27%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.21%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.60%.

Mar T-note prices (ZNH16 -0.29%) are down -13 ticks.

China Q4 GDP rose +6.8% y/y, less than expectations of +6.9% y/y and the slowest pace of increase since Q1 of 2009.

China Dec industrial production rose +5.9% y/y, weaker than expectations of +6.0% y/y.

China Dec retail sales rose +11.1% y/y, weaker than expectations of +11.3% y/y.

The IMF cut its 2016 global growth outlook to 3.4% from a 3.6% projection in Oct, saying risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside.

The German Jan ZEW survey expectations of economic growth fell -5.9 to 10.2, a smaller decline than expectations of -8.1 to 8.0.

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) Jan NAHB housing market index (expected unch at 61, Dec -1 to 61).

There are 10 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: Morgan Stanley (consensus $ 0.32), Bank of America (0.27), IBM (4.81), Comerica (0.69), Charles Schwab (0.25), UnitedHeatlh Group (1.38), M&T Bank (1.97), Delta Air Lines (1.19), Netflix (0.02), Linear Technology (0.46).

U.S. IPO’s scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences during the remainder of this week: 23rd Handelsblatt Annual Conference on Tue-Wed, World Economic Forum on Wed, CIBC Whistler Institutional Investor Conference on Wed.

Bank of America (BAC -3.54%) reported Q4 EPS of 33 cents, higher than consensus of 27 cents.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH -1.35%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 1.40, better than consensus of $ 1.38.

M&T Bank Corp. (MTB -2.54%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 2.05, above consensus of $ 1.97.

Delta Air Lines (DAL -1.85%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 1.18, below consensus of $ 1.19.

Burlington Stores (BURL +2.01%) were upgradd to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ at BB&T.

McDonald’s (MCD -1.23%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at BTIG with a price target of $ 130.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY +0.36%) was downgraded to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Hold’ at BB&T.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS -1.50%) was upgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Underweight’ at Piper Jaffray.

Novartis (NVS -2.99%) rose +0.5% in after-hours trading after its Cosentyx drug was approved by the FDA for the treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.

Constant Contact (CTCT +3.36%) said it sees Q4 revenue of $ 93.6 million, below estimates of $ 95.5 million.

Hortonworks (HDP -3.72%) reported a preliminary Q4 revenue estimate of $ 37 million-$ 38 million, better than consensus of $ 34 million.

Reuters reported that Telefonica has expressed interest in buying AT&T’s (T -0.90%) $ 10 billion of pay TV assets in Latin America.

Consolidated-Tomoka (CTO -0.88%) said its board authorized solicitation of proposals from financial advisers to advise the company on options for maximizing shareholder value.

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH16 +1.48%) this morning are up sharply by +32.00 points (+1.71%). Friday’s closes: S&P 500 -2.16%, Dow Jones -2.39%, Nasdaq -3.09%. The S&P 500 on Friday fell to a 15-month low and closed sharply lower on negative carryover from Friday’s -3.55% plunge in the Shanghai Composite, the weaker-than-expected U.S. Dec retail sales report (-0.1% and -0.1% ex autos, less than expectations of -0.1% and +0.2% ex autos), and the -13.16 point drop in the Jan Empire manufacturing survey of general business conditions to -19.37, weaker than expectations of +0.59 to -4.00 and the steepest pace of contraction in 6-3/4 years.

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH16 -0.29%) this morning are down -13 ticks. Friday’s closes: TYH6 +20.00, FVH6 +11.25. Mar T-notes on Friday rallied to a 2-1/2 month nearest-futures high and closed higher. T-note prices were boosted by increased safe-haven demand for T-notes as the S&P 500 plunged to a 15-month low, by weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data on Dec manufacturing production and Dec retail sales, and by the fall in the CCI continuous commodity index to a 6-3/4 year low, which undercut inflation expectations and sent the 10-year T-note breakeven inflation rate down to a 3-1/2 month low.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.25%) this morning is up +0.267 (+0.27%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0023 (-0.21%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.70 (+0.60%). Friday’s closes: Dollar Index -0.133 (-0.13%), EUR/USD +0.0051 (+0.47%), USD/JPY -1.08 (-0.91%). The dollar index on Friday closed lower on weakness in USD/JPY which dropped to a 4-1/2 month low as the sell-off in global equity markets boosted the safe-haven demand for the yen, and on weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data on Dec retail sales and Dec industrial production that may delay additional Fed interest rate hikes.

Feb crude oil (CLG16 +1.67%) this morning is up +65 cents (+2.21%) and Feb gasoline (RBG16 +4.23%) is up +0.0518 (+5.07%). Friday’s closes: CLG6 -1.78 (-5.71%), RBG6 -0.0472 (-4.42%). Feb crude oil and gasoline on Friday sold off sharply with Feb crude at a 12-year low and Feb gasoline at a 6-3/4 year low. Crude oil prices fell sharply on expectations for the imminent removal of sanctions on Iran and the plunge in global equity markets, which undercuts confidence in the economic outlook and energy demand.