Live Index – Wed, 03 Feb 2016 Premarket

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH16 +0.26%) are up +0.20% as stock index futures track crude oil prices (CLH16 +1.84%) which are up +1.67%. European stocks are down -0.93% at a 1-1/2 week low as losses in Italian banks lead the market lower. The cost of insuring corporate debt in Europe rose as the Markit iTraxx Europe Index of credit-default swaps on investment-grade companies rose above 100 bp, the highest in 2-1/3 years, as the continued decline in energy and commodity prices is putting pressure on miners and energy producers along with the banks that have loaned to those companies. Asian stocks settled lower: Japan -3.15%, Hong Kong -2.34%, China -0.38%, Taiwan -0.84%, Australia -2.33%, Singapore -1.10%, South Korea -0.92%, India -1.29%. Losses in Chinese stocks were limited as property stocks rose after the PBOC cut the minimum required down payment for first-time purchases to the lowest ever in an attempt to prop up the property market.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.20%) is down -0.26%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.01%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.38%.

Mar T-note prices (ZNH16 -0.12%) are down -2 ticks.

According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the PBOC plans to loosen rules on when foreign investors can bring money in and out of funds under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme (QFII), which grants quotas for money brought into China for investment in domestic stocks and bonds. The lock-up period for the withdrawal of QFII funds from China would be relaxed and institutions will be given more latitude over when they can bring money into China. Under the planned changes, QFII funds would be allowed to withdraw money from China on a daily basis. Currently, funds are subject to lock-ups of either 1 week of 1 month, depending on the type of quota.

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly MBA mortgage applications (previous +8.8% with purchase sub-index +4.6% and refi sub-index +11.2%), (2) Jan ADP employment change (expected +193,000, Dec +257,000), (3) final-Jan Markit services PMI (expected unrevised at 53.7, prelim-Jan -0.6 to 53.7), (4) Jan ISM non-manufacturing index (expected -0.7 to 55.1, Dec -0.8 to 55.8).

There are 31 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: GM (1.20), Marathon Petroleum (0.69), Merck (0.91), ADP (0.72), Southern Company (0.43), Allstate (1.34), Yum Brands (0.66), MetLife (1.36).

U.S. IPO’s scheduled to price today: PLx Pharma (PLXP).

Equity conferences this week include: Cowen and Company Aerospace/Defense Conference & Transport Forum on Wed-Thu

Intel (INTC -3.31%) was upgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Sell’ at Goldman Sachs.

Merck & Co. (MRK -0.67%) reported Q4 EPS of 93 cents, higher than consensus of 91 cents.

Marathon Petroleum (MPC -3.59%) reported Q4 EPS ex-charge of 79 cents, better than consensus of 69 cents.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG +0.64%) declined over 6% in pre-market trading after it said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Central District of California expanding the scope of a federal criminal probe into a norovirus outbreak in California.

Yahoo! (YHOO -1.72%) fell over 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 13 cents, better than consensus of 12 cents, but said it sees Q1 adjusted Ebitda of $ 100 million-$ 120 million, below consensus of $ 181 million.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW -2.45%) gained over 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 63 cents, better than consensus of 60 cents, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS to $ 2.57-$ 2.67 from a December forecast of $ 2.30-$ 2.40, above consensus of $ 2.41.

IAC/Interactive (IAC -2.08%) slid over 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 75 cents, well below consensus of 92 cents.

Gilead Sciences (GILD -1.59%) rose 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $ 3.32, higher than consensus of $ 2.99.

Barnes & Noble (BKS -5.38%) slid nearly 2% in after-hours trading after the WSJ reported that Amazon said it plans 300 to 400 physical bookstores nationwide.

Match Group (MTCH -4.69%) dropped over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 revenue of $ 267.6 million, below consensus of $ 275.9 million.

Boot Barn Holdings (BOOT -13.73%) climbed over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 45 cents, above consensus of 44 cents.

Oclaro (OCLR +3.97%) jumped 9% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 profit from continuing operations of 3 cents, above consensus of 1 cent.

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH16 +0.26%) this morning are up +3.75 points (+0.20%). Tuesday’s closes: S&P 500 -1.87%, Dow Jones -1.80%, Nasdaq -2.18%. The S&P 500 index on Tuesday closed sharply lower on continued concerns about weak global growth and on the -5.5% plunge in crude oil prices, which dragged down energy-producer stocks.

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH16 -0.12%) this morning are down -2 ticks. Tuesday’s closes: TYH6 +29.50, FVH6 +16.25. Mar T-note prices on Tuesday rallied to a contract high and the 10-year T-note yield tumbled to a 9-1/2 month low of 1.85%. T-note prices rallied on carryover support from a rally in German bunds to a 9-month high and on increased safe-haven demand prompted by the sharp sell-off in stocks.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.20%) this morning is down -0.257 (-0.26%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0001 (-0.01%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.45 (-0.38%). Tuesday’s closes: Dollar Index -0.137 (-0.14%), EUR/USD +0.0031 (+0.28%), USD/JPY -1.02 (-0.84%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed lower on increased safe-haven demand for the yen from the plunge in stocks, and on strength in EUR/USD after Eurozone Dec unemployment rate unexpectedly fell -0.1 to a 4-1/3 year low of 10.4%.

Mar crude oil (CLH16 +1.84%) this morning is up +50 cents (+1.67%) and Mar gasoline (RBH16 -2.61%) is down -0.0283 (-2.83%). Tuesday’s closes: CLH6 -1.74 (-5.50%), RBH6 -0.1004 (-9.27%). Mar crude oil and gasoline prices on Tuesday closed sharply lower with Mar gasoline at a contract low. Crude oil prices were undercut by news that Jan Russian oil production rose +1.5% y/y to a post-Soviet record high of 10.878 million bpd and by expectations for Wednesday’s weekly EIA crude inventories to climb +3.75 million bbl.