Live Index – Wed, 14 May 2014 Premarket

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 -0.13%) this morning are down -0.12% on profit-taking after the recent rally to a record high and European stocks are down -0.29%. The yield on the German 10-year bund tumbled to an 11-1/2 month low of 1.377% on speculation the ECB will ease further in June after ECB Executive Board member Praet said the ECB is considering stimulus options and “we are preparing a range of measures.” Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan -0.14%, Hong Kong +1.03%, China -0.11%, Taiwan +0.65%, Australia -0.03%, Singapore +1.14%, South Korea +1.56%, India -0.24%. Commodity prices are mostly higher. Jun crude oil (CLM14 +0.27%) is up +0.23% at a 2-week high on expectations for crude supplies at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, to fall to a new 5-year low when EIA data is released later today. Jun gasoline (RBM14 +0.40%) is up +0.27%. Jun gold (GCM14 +0.75%) is up +0.74%. July copper (HGN14 +0.91%) is up +0.78% at a 2-1/4 month high on signs of smaller global supplies after LME copper inventories fell -5,500 MT to a 5-1/2 year low of 197,475 MT. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.10%) is down -0.07%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.04%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.39%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 +0.27%) are up +9.5 ticks at a 1-3/4 month high on carry-over support from a rally in German bunds.

In an attempt to boost bank lending, the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) told 15 banks at a meeting Tuesday to “improve efficiency of service, give timely approval and distribution of mortgages to qualified buyers.”

Eurozone Mar industrial production fell -0.3% m/m, right on expectations. On a year-over-year basis, Mar industrial production unexpectedly fell -0.1% y/y, weaker than expectations of +0.9% y/y and the biggest decline in 7 months.

German Apr CPI was left unrevised at -0.3% m/m and +1.1% y/y, right on expectations.

The UK Mar ILO unemployment rate fell -0.1 to 6.8% for the 3-months ended Mar, right on expectations and the lowest in 5 years.

UK Apr jobless claims fell -25,100, less than expectations of -30,000, The Apr claimant count rate fell -0.1 to 3.3%, right on expectations and the lowest in 5-1/2 years.

Japan Apr machine tool orders surged +48.8% y/y, the most in 2-3/4 years.

Japan Apr domestic CGPI rose +2.8% m/m, right on expectations and the largest monthly increase in 34 years. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose +4.1% y/y, higher than expectations of +4.0% and the most in 5-1/2 years.

Today’s April final-demand PPI index is expected to rise to +1.7% y/y from +1.4% in March, but the core PPI is expected to be unchanged from March at +1.4% y/y. There are 4 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: Deere (consensus $ 2.49), Macy’s (0.60), Agilent (0.73), Cisco (0.48).

Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Barclays Americas Select Franchise Conference on Tue-Wed, Citi Global Energy & Utilities Conference on Tue-Wed, Oppenheimer Industrial Growth Summit on Tue-Wed, Credit Suisse Industrial & Environmental Services Conference on Tue-Wed, BMO Technology Conference on Wed, ISI Bermuda Energy Conference on Wed, J.P. Morgan Homebuilding & Building Products Conference on Wed, Embedded Systems Expo & Conference (ESEC) on Wed, Credit Suisse Disruptive Technology Conference on Wed, Sanford C Bernstein & Co Inaugural Thematic Financials Conference on Wed, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Healthcare Conference on Tue-Thu, RBC Capital Markets Aerospace and Defense Investor Day on Wed-Thu, JP Morgan Cazenove Business Service Conference on Thu, JP Morgan Homebuilding & Building Products Conference on Thu, JP Morgan Homebuilding & Building Products Conference on Thu, and Janney Spring Growth Conference on Fri.

Nomura (NMR +1.69%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ at Credit Suisse.

Sprague Resources (SRLP +3.53%) reported Q1 EPS of $ 3.74, over three times consensus of 95 cents.

Boeing (BA +0.64%) was awarded a contract for fifty 737 planes valued at close to $ 3.8 billion from a low-cost carrier being set up by China’s Juneyao Airlines.

Coty (COTY -2.53%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 22 cents, over two times consensus of 9 cents.

According to China Daily, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF +0.81%) plans to open more than 100 stores in China in the next ten years.

Sears (SHLD -0.55%) is up 5% in pre-market trading after it said it is exploring strategic alternatives for its 51% interest in Sears Canada.

Royal Caribbean (RCL -1.27%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at SunTrust.

Autodesk (ADSK -0.60%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ at Canaccord.

Deere (DE -0.04%) reported Q2 EPS of $ 2.65, stronger than consensus of $ 2.49.

Bloomberg reports that Fortress Investment Group (FIG +0.86%) is preparing a $ 4.7 billion bid for Stuyvesant Town.

Lockheed Martin (LMT +0.43%) was awarded a $ 101.9 million contract modification for development of the F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing Air System for the government of Israel under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

Anadarko (APC -0.18%) raised its quarterly dividend by 50% to 27 cents per share.

URS Corporation (URS -0.11%) reports Q1 cash EPS of 60 cents, below consensus of 68 cents.

Fossil (FOSL -0.56%) dropped over 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of $ 1.22, higher than consensus of $ 1.17, but then said it sees Q2 EPS of 90 cents-97 cents, below consensus of $ 1.16.

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 -0.13%) this morning are down -2.25 points (-0.12%). The S&P 500 index on Tuesday climbed to a new record high and closed higher: S&P 500 +0.04%, Dow Jones +0.12%, Nasdaq -0.04%. Bullish factors included (1) positive Q1 earnings results with 76% of reporting S&P 500 companies beating market estimates, according to Bloomberg data, and (2) increased M&A activity after AT&T said it held advanced talks to acquire DirecTV for $ 50 billion and after Coca-Cola said it raised its stake in Keurig Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to 16%. Stocks fell back from their best levels after U.S. Apr retail sales rose +0.1% and were unchanged ex autos, weaker than expectations of +0.4% and +0.6% ex autos.

Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 +0.27%) this morning are up +9.5 ticks at a 1-3/4 month high. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Tuesday closed higher: TYM4 +10.50, FVM4 +6.25. Bullish factors included (1) the smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. Apr retail sales, and (2) carry-over support from a rally in German bunds which surged to an 11-1/2 month high on speculation the Bundesbank was said to be more open to additional stimulus from the ECB.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.10%) this morning is down -0.060 (-0.07%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0005 (+0.04%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.40 (-0.39%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed higher with the dollar index at a 5-week high: Dollar index +0.242 (+0.30%), EUR/USD -0.0054 (-0.39%), USD/JPY +0.136 (+0.13%). EUR/USD tumbled to a 5-week low after the German May ZEW survey of expectations for economic growth unexpectedly fell -10.1 points to a 16-month low of 33.1, and after the WSJ reported that the Bundesbank is willing to back ECB measures for additional stimulus if ECB staff forecasts next month show a lower 2016 inflation outlook. The dollar fell back from its best levels after U.S. Apr retail sales were weaker than expected.

Jun WTI crude oil (CLM14 +0.27%) this morning is up +23 cents (+0.23%) at a fresh 2-week high. Jun gasoline (RBM14 +0.40%) is up +0.0078 (+0.27%). Jun crude and gasoline prices on Tuesday closed higher with Jun crude at a 2-week high. Bullish factors included (1) expectations for crude supplies at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, to decline for the 14th time in 15 weeks when weekly EIA data is reported on Wednesday, and (2) the rally in the S&P 500 to a record high, which bolstered confidence in the economic outlook and energy demand. Closes: CLM4 +1.11 (+1.10%). RBM4 +0.0156 (+0.54%).