Live Index – Tue, 11 Feb 2014 Premarket

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.

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.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN +1.40%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 2,24, better than consensus of $ 2.09.

IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE -1.59%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 1.58, well below consensus of $ 1.95.

CVS Caremark (CVS +0.75%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 1.12, highe than consensus of $ 1.11.

Reynolds American (RAI +0.10%) reported Q4 EPS of 77 cents, weaker than consensus of 80 cents.

General Motors (GM -3.35%) gained 1% in European trading after the automaker reported that its China Jan auto sales jumped +12% to a record 348,061 units.

Owens & Minor (OMI +1.20%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 52 cents, better than consensus of 49 cents.

Masco (MAS -1.45%) reported Q4 EPS of 15 cents, below consensus of 16 cents.

Yacktman Asset reported 5.5% passive stake in Sysco (SYY -0.34%) .

Talisman Group reported a 15.61% stake in Endeavour (END +2.04%) .

Vanguard reported a 5.79% passive stake in Align Technology (ALGN -0.04%) .

Amkor Technology (AMKR +2.50%) reported Q4 EPS of 18 cents, higher than consensus of 14 cents

Molina Healthcare (MOH -0.80%) reported a Q4 EPS loss of -20 cents, a much bigger loss than consensus of -4 cents.

Ionic Capital reported a 5.07% passive stake in GenCorp (GY -0.95%) .

T. Rowe Price reported a 7.2% passive stake in Array BioPharma (ARRY +6.78%) .

Nuance (NUAN +0.25%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 24 cents, better than consensus of 21 cents.

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH14 +0.35%) this morning are up +5.75 points (+0.32%) at a 2-week high. The S&P 500 on Monday closed higher in light trade as traders squared up positions before Tuesday’s testimony to Congress by new Fed Chair Yellen. A positive for stocks was carry-over support from a rally in China’s Shanghai Stock Index to a 5-week high after Bank of America said that spending during the 7-day Lunar New Year holiday signals strong consumption and that Chinese economic growth will be “relatively stable.” Closes: S&P 500 +0.16%, Dow Jones +0.05%, Nasdaq 100 +0.57%.

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH14 -0.07%) this morning are down -2.5 ticks. Mar 10-year T-note futures prices on Monday closed little changed as traders evened up positions ahead of Fed Chair Yellen’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Tue. Losses were limited on speculation that Yellen’s comments will be on the dovish side and that she’ll acknowledge that the recovery in the labor market is slowing. Closes: TYH4 +11.50, FVH4 +8.50.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.18%) this morning is down -0.101 (-0.13%) at a 1-1/2 week low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0019 (+0.14%) at a 1-1/2 week high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is +0.10 (+0.10%). The dollar index fell to a 1-week low Monday and closed lower on expectations for dovish commentary from Fed Chair Yellen on Tuesday. EUR/USD climbed to a 1-week high after the Eurozone Feb Sentix investor confidence unexpectedly rose +1.4 to a 2-3/4 year high of 13.3. Closes: Dollar index -0.049 (-0.06%), EUR/USD +0.00098 (+0.07%), USD/JPY -0.04 (-0.04%).

Mar WTI crude oil (CLH14 +0.10%) this morning is up +31 cents (+0.31%) and Mar gasoline (RBH14 +0.43%) is up +0.0180 (+0.66%). Mar crude and gasoline prices rose to 1-1/4 month highs Monday, but settled mixed. Crude found support from a weak dollar and strength in stocks, while gasoline shed its advance and closed lower after the NWS issued an ice storm alert for the southeastern U.S., which may reduce gasoline demand as drivers stay off the roads. Closes: CLH4 +0.18 (+0.18%), RBH4 -0.0241 (-0.88%).