Live Index – Mon, 22 Sep 2014 Premarket

December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 -0.30%) this morning are down -0.35% and European stocks are down -0.12% as global stocks moved lower after comments from China’s finance minister dampened speculation his government will boost economic stimulus. Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said that growth in China faces downward pressure and that there won’t be major changes in policy in response to individual economic indicators. Another negative for global stocks was the communique released from the G-20 meeting in Australia that said low interest rates could lead to a potential increase in financial-market risk as major economies rely on monetary stimulus to bolster uneven growth. Asian stocks closed mostly lower: Japan -0.71%, Hong Kong -1.44%, China -1.91%, Taiwan -1.14%, Australia -1.29%, Singapore -0.26%, South Korea -0.82%, India +0.43%. Commodity prices are mostly lower. Oct crude oil (CLV14 +0.16%) is down -0.08%. Oct gasoline (RBV14 -0.76%) is down -0.61%. Dec gold (GCZ14 -0.26%) is down -0.16%. Dec copper (HGZ14 -1.62%) is down -1.57% at a 3-month low on Chinese demand concerns. Agriculture prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.02%) is up +0.01%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.09%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.01%. Dec T-note prices (ZNZ14 +0.13%) are up +5.5 ticks.

The communique released Sunday following the 3-day meeting of G-20 finance chiefs and central bankers in Cairns, Australia said that “We are mindful of the potential for a build-up of excessive risk in financial markets, particularly in an environment of low interest rates and low asset price volatility. We welcome the stronger economic conditions is some key countries, although growth in the global economy is uneven.”

Comments from ECB Executive Board member Coeure suggest the ECB may wait before expanding stimulus measures further when he said that the ECB will gauge the effects of monetary stimulus unveiled in June and September before deciding whether more action is needed to bring inflation back toward 2%. “In the case it would not be enough, the Governing Council is ready to do more, but it’s way too early to tell.”

ECB Governing Council member and Bank of Italy Governor Visco said that “the ECB may not need to add stimulus measures after steps in the past three months pushed down the euro, although more action may be needed if inflation remains low.”

Today’s Aug existing home sales report is expected to show an increase of +1.0% to an 11 -month high of 5.20 million units, adding to the +2.4% increase to 5.15 million units seen in July. There are two of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: AutoZone (consensus $ 11.26), Ascena Retail Group (0.18).

Equity conferences this week include: IPAA Oil & Gas Investment Symposium on Mon, Jefferies West Coast Electronic Payments Summit on Tue, UBS Chemicals Conference on Tue, Citi Industrial Conference on Mon-Tue, Capital Link Global Shipping, Marine Services & Offshore Forum on Tue, World LNG Series:Asia Pacific Summit on Tue-Thu, Avondale’s Dallas Airlines Day on Wed, and 8th Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency Exchange on Wed-Thu.

Yahoo (YHOO -2.73%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN -1.36%) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS -2.53%) were both downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ at Wells Fargo.

Dun & Bradstreet (DNB -0.11%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ at RW Baird

Walgreen (WAG -0.47%) was downgraded to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ at Barclays.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK +0.19%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Commerzbank (CRZBY -0.36%) was downgraded to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Neutral’ at Exane BNP Paribas.

AutoZone (AZO -1.10%) reported Q4 EPS of $ 11.28, better than consensus of $ 11.26.

Point72 Asset reported a 5.0% passive stake in Pier 1 Imports (PIR +0.63%) .

The Financial Times reports that General Electric (GE +0.31%) was in talks with Dresser-Rand (DRC +9.42%) on a potential deal.

Gabelli reported a 5.29% stake in Post Holdings (POST -2.27%) .

Dec E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 -0.30%) this morning are down -7.00 points (-0.35%). The S&P 500 index on Friday soared to a new all-time high but fell back on profit-taking and closed little changed: S&P 500 -0.05%, Dow Jones +0.08%, Nasdaq -0.07%. Bullish factors included (1) carry-over support from a rally in European stocks after Scotland voted to remain in the UK, and (2) strong demand for the Alibaba IPO, the biggest U.S. initial public offering ever, as the stock opened at $ 92.70 after the IPO was priced at $ 68. Stocks came off of their best levels after (1) U.S. Aug leading indicators rose +0.2%, less than expectations of +0.4%, and (2) the quadruple expiration of Sep stock futures and option contracts.

Dec 10-year T-notes (ZNZ14 +0.13%) this morning areup +5.5 ticks. Dec 10-year T-note futures prices on Friday fell to a 1-1/2 month low on reduced safe-haven demand after the S&P 500 posted a new record high, but T-notes recovered their losses and closed higher. Bullish factors included (1) a flatter yield curve which prompted investors to sell shorter-term Treasuries and purchase longer-term Treasury maturities, and (2) reduced inflation expectations after the 10-year T-note breakeven inflation rate dropped to a 14-1/4 month low on Thursday. Closes: TYZ4 +8.50, FVZ4 +2.75.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.02%) this morning is up +0.011 (+0.01%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0011 (+0.09%) and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.01 (+0.01%). The dollar index on Friday rose to a 4-year high and closed higher. EUR/USD slipped to a new 14-1/4 month low and USD/JPY soared to a new 6-year high. The main bullish factor for the dollar is improvement in the dollar’s interest rate differentials on policy divergence between the Fed, which is cutting stimulus, and the ECB and BOJ who are both expanding stimulus. Closes: Dollar index +0.412 (+0.49%), EUR/USD -0.00966 (-0.75%), USD/JPY +0.309 (+0.28%).

Oct WTI crude oil (CLV14 +0.16%) this morning is down -7 cents (-0.08%) and Oct gasoline (RBV14 -0.76%) is down -0.0160 (-0.61%). Oct crude and gasoline prices on Friday settled mixed: CLV4 -0.66 (-0.71%), RBV4 +0.0385 (+1.50%). Crude prices closed lower after the dollar index rallied to a fresh 4-year high, which is negative for most commodities priced in dollars. Meanwhile, gasoline closed higher after the S&P 500 rose to an all-time high, which bolstered optimism in the economic outlook and for fuel demand.