Live Index – Fri, 30 May 2014 Premarket

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 -0.05%) this morning are down -0.08% as the market consolidates following yesterday’s rally to a fresh record high. European stocks are down -0.19% after German Apr retail sales unexpectedly declined and after bank stocks fell led by a 5% drop in BNP Paribas SA after a person familiar with the matter said U.S. authorities are seeking more than $ 10 billion from the bank to settle investigations into dealing with sanctioned countries. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan -0.34%, Hong Kong +0.31%, China +0.06%, Taiwan -0.36%, Australia -0.49%, Singapore -0.15%, South Korea -1.00%, India -0.07%. Japanese stocks closed lower and the yen gained against the dollar after the pace of Japanese inflation quickened to its fastest level in 23 years in April, which reduces the potential for further BOJ monetary easing. Commodity prices are mostly lower. July crude oil (CLN14 -0.43%) is down -0.36%. July gasoline (RBN14 -0.41%) is down -0.29%. Jun gold (GCM14 -0.29%) is down -0.29%. July copper (HGN14 +0.43%) is up +0.30%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.07%) is down -0.05%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.05%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.14%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.15%) are down -6 ticks.

German Apr retail sales unexpectedly fell -0.9% m/m, worse than expectations of a +0.2% m/m increase, although Mar was revised higher to +0.1% m/m from the originally reported -0.7% m/m. On an annual basis, retail sales rose +3.4% y/y, better than expectations of +1.5% y/y and the largest year-over-year increase in 1-3/4 years.

Kansas City Fed President George said banks are responding to record-low interest rates by “engaging in riskier activities,” citing record volume in leveraged loans last year. Thus, “it will likely be appropriate to raise the federal funds rate at a somewhat faster pace than the median of committee members’ projections.”

UK May GfK consumer confidence rose +3 to zero, better than expectations of +1 to -2 and the highest in 9 years.

The Japan Apr jobless rate was unch at 3.6%, right on expectations. The Apr job-to-applicant ratio rose +0.01 to 1.08, better than expectations of unch at 1.07 and matched the highest since July 2006.

Japan Apr national CPI climbed +3.4% y/y, right on expectations and the highest since Jun 1991. Apr national CPI ex fresh food rose +3.2% y/y, higher than expectations of +3.1% y/y and the fastest pace since Feb 1991. Apr CPI ex food & energy rose +2.3% y/y, right on expectations and the highest in 16-1/3 years.

Japan Apr industrial production fell -2.5% m/m, a larger decline than expectations of -2.0% m/m and the most in 10 months. On an annual basis, Apr industrial production rose +4.1% y/y, less than expectations of +4.5% y/y.

Today’s final-May U.S. consumer confidence index from the University of Michigan is expected to show a +0.7 increase to 82.5 from the early-May report of 81.8. Today’s April PCE deflator is expected to jump to +1.6% y/y from +1.1% in March. Meanwhile, the April core PCE deflator is expected to edge higher to +1.4% y/y from +1.2% in March. Today’s May Chicago PMI is expected to show a -2.0 point decline to 61.0, falling back after the +7.1 point surge to 63.0 seen in April.

There are 2 of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: Big Lots (consensus $ 0.44), Chimera Investment. Equity conferences today include Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wed-Fri.

Genesco (GCO -3.27%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 81 cents, less than consensus of 91 cents.

Reuters reports that Wells Fargo (WFC -0.34%) will pay $ 62.5 million to settle allegations from a group of institutional investors that the firm inaccurately advertised a high-risk securities lending program as secure.

Big Lots (BIG +1.24%) reported Q1 continuing operations EPS of 50 cents, better than consensus of 44 cents.

OmniVision (OVTI -1.18%) surged over 15% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 40 cents, well above consensus of 27 cents, and then said it sees Q1 EPS of 43 cents – 63 cents, above consensus of 29 cents.

Salesforce.com (CRM +1.99%) rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft.

Avago (AVGO +0.98%) climbed nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 85 cents, stronger than consensus of 76 cents.

Guess (GES +1.59%) reported a Q1 EPS loss of -3 cents, a smaller loss than consensus of -7 cents.

Esterline (ESL +0.69%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $ 1.28, lower than consensus of $ 1.31.

Express (EXPR +0.59%) slumped over 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 6 cents, well below consensus of 14 cents, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS to 74 cents-90 cents, weaker than consensus of $ 1.14.

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 -0.05%) this morning are down -1.50 points (-0.08%). The S&P 500 index on Thursday posted yet another new record high and closed higher. Supportive factors include (1) the -27,000 decline in U.S. weekly initial unemployment claims, more than expectations of -8,000 to 318,000, and (2) reduced interest rate concerns after the yield on the 10-year T-note tumbled to an 11-1/4 month low of 2.40%. Stocks ignored the bearish revision of U.S. Q1 GDP to -1.0% (q/q annualized), weaker than expectations of -0.5% and the largest contraction in 3 years. Closes: S&P 500 +0.54%, Dow Jones +0.39%, Nasdaq +0.63%.

Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.15%) this morning are down -6 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices fell back from a 6-month nearest-futures high and closed lower after the S&P 500 rallied to another record high. The 10-year T-note yield fell to a 11-1/4 month low of 2.40% on bullish factors that included (1) weaker-than-expected U.S. Q1 GDP that contracted by the most in 3 years, and (2) the weaker-than-expected U.S. Apr pending home sales report. Closes: TYM4 -2.50, FVM4 -2.75.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.07%) this morning is down -0.039 (-0.05%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0007 (+0.05%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.14 (-0.14%). The dollar index on Thursday closed lower after U.S. Q1 GDP was revised lower to -1.0% q/q annualized, the largest drop in 3 years. Dollar losses were limited after weekly U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected: Dollar Index -0.077 (-0.10%), EUR/USD +0.00107 (+0.08%), USD/JPY -0.059 (-0.06%).

July WTI crude oil (CLN14 -0.43%)this morning is down -37 cents (-0.36%). July gasoline (RBN14 -0.41%) is down -0.0086 (-0.29%). July crude and gasoline prices on Thursday closed higher. Bullish factors included (1) -1.525 million bbl drop in crude inventories at Cushing, OK, delivery point for WTI futures, to a 5-1/2 year low of 21.69 million bbl, and (2) the continued shutdown of gasoline production at Marathon’s Garyville, LA refinery, the nation’s third-largest, after a tornado damaged the refinery. Closes: CLN4 +0.86 (+0.84%) RBN4 +0.0077 (+0.26%).