Live Index – Fri, 07 Feb 2014 Premarket

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH14 +0.40%) this morning are up +0.25% ahead of this morning’s U.S. Jan payrolls data and European stocks are up +0.14% as emerging-market stocks and currencies advanced. Asian stocks closed higher: Japan +2.17%, Hong Kong +1.00%, China +0.46%, Taiwan +0.92%, Australia +0.68%, Singapore +0.83%, South Korea +0.78%, India +0.32%. Commodity prices are mixed. Mar crude oil (CLH14 -0.19%) is down -0.40%. Mar gasoline (RBH14 +0.17%) is down -0.06%. Apr gold (GCJ14 +0.37%) is up +0.30%. March copper (HGH14 +0.50%) is up +0.54% at a 1-week high after LME copper inventories fell -1,225 MT to a 13-1/4 month low. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.09%) is up +0.08%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.15% after Germany’s Federal Constitution Court sought advice on whether the ECB’s OMT bond-buying program is legal. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.04%. March T-note prices (ZNH14 -0.10%) are down -2 ticks.

Germany’s Federal Constitution Court has asked the European Court of Justice to rule on a claim that the ECB overstepped its powers in establishing the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) bond buying program in Sep 2012. The still-unused program that’s credited with easing the Eurozone debt crisis, allows the ECB to buy government bonds of indebted nations.

German Dec industrial production unexpectedly fell -0.6% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.3% m/m, and on an annual basis rose +2.6% y/y, a slower pace than expectations of +3.5% y/y.

The German Dec trade balance shrank to a +14.2 billion euro surplus, smaller than expectations of a +17.3 billion euro surplus. Dec exports unexpectedly fell -0.9% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.8% m/m and the biggest decline in 7-months. Dec imports unexpectedly fell -0.6% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.9% m/m.

UK Dec industrial production rose +0.4% m/m and +1.8% y/y, weaker than expectations of +0.6 m/m and +2.3% y/y. Dec manufacturing production climbed +0.3% m/m and +1.5% y/y, a smaller increase than expectations of +0.6% m/m and +2.3% y/y.

The Japan Dec leading index CI rose +1.1 to 112.1, a bigger increase than expectations of +0.8 to 111.9 and the highest since data began in 2008. The Dec coincident index rose +1.0 to 111.7, better than expectations of +0.8 to 111.5 and the highest in 5-1/2 years.

Today’s Jan payroll report is expected to show an increase of +182,000, returning to more reasonable figures after the very disappointing report of +74,000 seen in December.   Today’s Jan unemployment rate is expected to be unchanged at 6.7%, sustaining the -0.3 point drop seen in December to the 5-year low of 6.7%.  There are 5 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today:  Lab Corp of America ($ 1.66), Wyndham (0.73), Cigna (1.49), Moody’s (0.76), and FLIR Systems (0.37).  Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include India Auto Expo 2014 on Fri.

Moody’s (MCO +2.98%) reported Q4 EPS of 85 cents, higher than consensus of 76 cents.

Towers Watson (TW -8.25%) was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ at JPMorgan.

Cigna (CI +0.35%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 1.39, below consensus of $ 1.49.

AOL (AOL -0.88%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at BofA/Merrill.

Fitch Ratings said it has downgraded the long-term ratings of McKesson (MCK +2.24%) , including the long-term Issuer Default Rating, to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A-‘

WellCare (WCG -0.40%) signed a contract to provide medicaid services to Medicaid recipients in eight Florida regions as part of the state’s Managed Medical Assistance program.

Illinois Tool Works (ITW +0.68%) announced that it will sell its Industrial Packaging Segment to The Carlyle Group (CG +4.81%) for $ 3.2 billion.

Republic Services (RSG +1.01%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 53 cents, better than consensus of 46 cents.

ON Semiconductor (ONNN +2.59%) reported Q4 EPS of 17 cents, better than consensus of 14 cents.

News Corp. (NWSA +2.63%) rose 2% in European trading ater it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 31 cents, well ahead of consensus of 20 cents.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI +1.66%) climbed 8% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 79 cents, stronger than consensus of 73 cents.

LinkedIn (LNKD +4.24%) slid over 8% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 39 cents, higher than consensus of 38 cents, but then lowered guidance on its fiscal 2014 revenue estimate to $ 2.02 billion-$ 2.05 billion, below consensus of $ 2.16 billion.

Expedia (EXPE +1.89%) jumped 13% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 92 cents, better than consensus of 86 cents.

Lionsgate (LGF +3.42%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 70 cents, well above consensus of 44 cents.

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH14 +0.40%) this morning are up +4.50 points (+0.25%). The S&P 500 on Thursday closed higher on reduced labor market concerns after U.S. weekly initial unemployment claims fell -20,000 to 331,000, a bigger decline than expectations of -13,000 to 335,000. Stocks also found support on strong Q4 company earnings results as 77% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings thus far have beaten market estimates. A negative for stocks was the wider-than-expected -$ 38.7 billion U.S. Dec trade deficit, which should cause a downward revision to Q4 GDP. Closes: S&P 500 +1.24%, Dow Jones +1.22%, Nasdaq 100 +1.24%.

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH14 -0.10%) this morning are down -2 ticks. Mar 10-year T-note futures prices on Thursday closed lower after U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell more than expected. T-note prices were also undercut by a slide in German bund prices after ECB President Draghi signaled the ECB will wait until next month to decide if they should implement any additional stimulus measures. Closes: TYH4 -8.50, FVH4 -3.50.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.09%) this morning is up +0.068 (+0.08%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0020 (-0.15%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.04 (+0.04%). The dollar index on Thursday closed lower after a rally in stocks curbed safe-haven demand for the dollar. EUR/USD received a boost after the ECB refrained from additional stimulus measures following its policy meeting as ECB President Draghi said the ECB will wait until next month before deciding if additional stimulus is needed. Closes: Dollar index -0.130 (-0.16%), EUR/USD +0.0056 (+0.41%), USD/JPY +0.662 (+0.65%).

Mar WTI crude oil (CLH14 -0.19%) this morning is down -39 cents (-0.40%) and Mar gasoline (RBH14 +0.17%) is down -0.0017 (-0.06%). Mar crude oil and gasoline prices on Thursday closed higher with Mar crude at a 1-month high. Bullish factors included (1) the weaker dollar, (2) the larger-than-expected decline in U.S. weekly jobless claims, a sign of economic strength, and (3) the current cold snap to grip the northern half of the U.S., which should boost demand for heating fuels and further reduce distillate inventories. Closes: CLH4 +0.46 (+0.47%), RBH4 +0.0417 (+1.58%).