Live Index – Fri, 20 Jun 2014 Premarket

September E-mini S&Ps (ESU14 unch) this morning are unchanged, just below a new record high and European stocks are little changed, down -0.01%, just below a 5-3/4 year high. Increased M&A activity is giving a boost to stocks with gains in health-care companies leading the way after AbbVie Inc. said that Shire turned down its offer to buy the company for 27.3 billion pounds ($ 46.6 billion). Gold producers also gained after the price of gold rose to a 2-month high. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan -0.08%, Hong Kong +0.11%, China +0.46%, Taiwan -0.46%, Australia -0.89%, Singapore -0.31%, South Korea -1.36%, India -0.38%. Commodity prices are mixed. July crude oil (CLN14 +0.06%) is up +0.12%. July gasoline (RBN14 -0.11%) is down -0.07%. Aug gold (GCQ14 -0.27%) is down -0.28%. July copper (HGN14 +0.42%) is up +0.52% at a 2-week high on signs of tighter global supplies after weekly Shanghai copper inventories fell -6,400 MT to a 2-1/2 year low of 75,529 MT and LME copper supplies fell -575 MT to a 5-3/4 year low of 159,425 MT. Agriculture and livestock prices are mostly lower. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.11%) is up +0.05%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.14%% after the IMF suggested the ECB implement its own QE program. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.11%. Sep T-note prices (ZNU14 -0.14%) are down -1 tick.

In its assessment of the Eurozone economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that “if inflation remains stubbornly low, the ECB should consider a large-scale asset purchase program.” IMF Managing Director Lagarde said that inflation’s resistance to the ECB’s latest stimulus measures would represent the “stubbornness” that triggers quantitative easing.

German May PPI unexpectedly fell -0.2% m/m, weaker than expectations of unch m/m and the fourth decline in the last 5 months. On an annual basis, May PPI fell -0.8% y/y, a larger decline than expectations of -0.7% y/y and the tenth consecutive month that prices have fallen year-over-year.

UK May public sector net borrowing rose +11.5 billion pounds, less than expectations of +12.0 billion pounds, and Apr was revised lower to an increase of +9.0 billion pounds from the originally reported +9.6 billion pounds.

There are no U.S. economic reports today. There are two of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: CarMax (consensus $ 0.67), Darden Restaurants (0.94). There are no equity conferences today.

PetSmart (PETM -1.32%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ at Wedbush.

Darden Restaurants (DRI -0.40%) reported Q4 EPS of 84 cents, well below consensus of 94 cents.

Cimarex Energy (XEC -0.39%) will replace International Game (IGT +1.26%) in S&P 500 as today’s close.

Autonation (AN +0.44%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Molson Coors (TAP +0.91%) was upgraded to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Underweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Kroger (KR +5.06%) was upgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Sell’ at Goldman Sachs.

Raging Capital reported a 10.3% passive stake in 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS -1.75%) .

AK Steel (AKS -2.11%) dropped 4% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on Q2 adjusted EPS to a loss of -6 cents to -2 cents, well below consensus of a 10 cent profit.

Gabelli reported a 5.74% stake in Hillshire Brands (HSH -0.16%) .

According to Bloomberg, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE -0.20%) is near a deal to acquire Targa Resources (TRGP +20.45%) and Targa Resources Partners (NGLS +17.74%) in a deal valued at a combined total of more than $ 15 billion.

Smith & Wesson (SWHC +1.01%) sank over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 44 cents, higher than consensus of 39 cents, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 GAAP EPS to $ 1.30-$ 1.40, below consensus of $ 1.45.

Family Dollar (FDO -0.12%) rose over 3% in after-hours trading after billionare investor Carl Icahn sent a letter to the company’s CEO urging an ‘immediate sale’ of the company.

Oracle (ORCL -0.70%) slid 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 92 cents, weaker than consensus of 95 cents, and then was downgraded by Citigroup to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy.’

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU14 unch) this morning are unchanged. The S&P 500 index on Thursday posted yet another record high and closed higher. Positives for stocks included (1) the -6,000 decline in weekly jobless claims to 312,000, slightly below expectations of 313,000 and (2) the unexpected +2.4 point increase in the Jun Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index to 17.8, stronger than expectations of -1.4 to 14.0 and the fastest pace of expansion in 9 months. A negative for stocks was the +0.5% increase in U.S. May leading indicators, slightly less than expectations of +0.6%. Closes: S&P 500 +0.13%, Dow Jones +0.09%, Nasdaq -0.10%.

Sep 10-year T-notes (ZNU14 -0.14%) this morning are down -1 tick. Sep 10-year T-note futures prices on Thursday posted a 1-1/2 week high and closed higher. The main bullish factor for T-notes was carry-over support from Wednesday’s FOMC cut in its U.S. 2014 GDP estimate and its promise to keep interest rates low for a “considerable” period. T-notes fell back from their best levels after the Jun Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index unexpectedly expanded at the fastest pace in 9 months. Closes: TYU4 +4.00, FVU4 +5.00.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.11%) this morning is up +0.044 (+0.05%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0019 (-0.14%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.11 (+0.11%). The dollar index on Thursday fell to a 4-week low and closed lower on negative carry-over from Wednesday’s FOMC statement that said interest rates will be kept near zero for a “considerable” period. Another negative for the dollar was strength in the British pound as GBP/USD soared to a 5-1/2 year high on speculation the BOE will begin to raise interest rates before the Fed. Closes: Dollar Index -0.267 (-0.33%), EUR/USD +0.0011 (+0.08%), USD/JPY +0.019 (+0.02%).

July WTI crude oil (CLN14 +0.06%) this morning is up +13 cents (+0.12%). July gasoline (RBN14 -0.11%) is down -0.0022 (-0.07%). July crude and gasoline prices on Thursday closed higher with July gasoline at an 11-month high. Bullish factors included (1) an escalation of violence in Iraq that pushed Brent crude oil prices up to a 9-month high, which then propelled July gasoline to an 11-month high on speculation that Europe will boost its imports of cheaper U.S. gasoline, and (2) the fall in the dollar index to 4-week low. Closes: CLN4 +0.46 (+0.43%) RBN4 +0.0273 (+0.88%).