Live Index – Fri, 03 Oct 2014 Premarket

December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 +0.44%) this morning are up +0.43% and European stocks are up +0.51% before U.S. Sep payrolls data is released later this morning. European stocks received a boost after Eurozone Aug retail sales came in much stronger than expected. Asian stocks closed higher: Japan +0.30%, China, South Korea and India closed for holiday, Hong Kong +0.57%, Taiwan +1.45%, Australia +0.39%, Singapore +0.76%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Index rebounded from a 1-month low and closed higher after Prime Minister Abe pledged assistance for smaller companies hurt by the recent plunge in the yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shook off losses and closed higher after government officials agreed to demands by student leaders for talks as protests continue to disrupt travel in the heart of Hong Kong. Commodity prices are mixed. Nov crude oil (CLX14 -0.57%) is down -0.32%. Nov gasoline (RBX14 -0.66%) is down -0.51%. Dec gold (GCZ14 -0.56%) is down -0.67%. Dec copper (HGZ14 +0.15%) is up +0.08%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mostly higher. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.40%) is up +0.43%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.39% after the Eurozone Sep Markit composite PMI was revised down to a 10-month low. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.52% as the yen weakened after BOJ Governor Kuroda said a weakening currency was unlikely to hurt the economy. Dec T-note prices (ZNZ14 -0.01%) are unchanged.

The Eurozone Sep Markit composite PMI was revised down to 52.0 from the previously reported 52.3, the slowest pace of expansion in 10 months.

Eurozone Aug retail sales rose +1.2% m/m and +1.9% y/y, much stronger than expectations of +0.1% m/m and +0.7% y/y.

The China Sep non-manufacturing PMI fell -0.4 to 54.0, the slowest pace of expansion in 8 months.

The UK Sep Markit/CIPS services PMI fell -1.8 to 58.7, a bigger decline than expectations of -1.5 to 59.0.

Today’s Sep payroll report is expected to show an increase of +217,000, rebounding back above +200,000 following August’s weak report. Meanwhile, the markets are expecting today’s September unemployment rate to be unchanged from the 6-year low of 6.1% posted in June and August. Today’s Aug U.S. trade deficit is expected to widen slightly to -$ 40.8 billion from -$ 40.5 billion in July. Today’s Sep ISM non-manufacturing index is expected to fall by -1.1 points to 58.5, more than reversing the +0.9 point increase to 59.6 seen in August. There are no earnings reports or equity conferences today.

JetBlue (JBLU +3.42%) was added to the short-term buy list at Deutsche Bank.

Cree (CREE -12.04%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Needham.

Vale (VALE +2.12%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Canaccord.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF +0.06%) was upgraded to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Underweight’ at Barclays.

Halliburton (HAL -1.65%) was upgraded to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Underweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

SunPower (SPWR -0.06%) was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ at JPMorgan Chase.

Brahman Capital reported a 5.24% passive stake in Calpine (CPN -1.79%) .

Salesforce.com (CRM -0.16%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Sterne Agee with a price target of $ 70.

Apple (AAPL +0.73%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Deutsche Bank.

Gabelli reported a 5.03% stake in Peregrine (PSMI +0.41%) .

Dec E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 +0.44%) this morning are up +8.25 points (+0.43%). The S&P 500 index on Thursday recovered from a 1-1/2 month low and closed unchanged: S&P 500 unch, Dow Jones -0.02%, Nasdaq +0.03%. Bearish factors included (1) carry-over weakness from a slide in European equities after ECB President Draghi disappointed the markets when he failed to provide details on the ECB’s plan to buy private securities, and (2) the -10.1% decline in U.S. Aug factory orders, a bigger drop than expectations of -9.5%. Stocks recovered from their worst levels after weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell -8,000 to 287,000, better than expectations of +4,000 to 297,000.

Dec 10-year T-notes (ZNZ14 -0.01%) this morning are unchanged. Dec 10-year T-note futures prices on Thursday fell from a 1-month high and closed lower. Bearish factors included (1) an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims, and (2) the rebound in the S&P 500 which recovered from a 1-1/2 month low and closed unchanged. Bullish factors included (1) increased safe-haven demand for Treasuries after the S&P 500 fell to a 1-1/2 month low, and (2) the bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. Aug factory orders. Closes: TYZ4 -6.50, FVZ4 -2.50.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.40%) this morning is up +0.364 (+0.43%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0050 (-0.39%) and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.56 (+0.52%). The dollar index on Thursday closed lower. Bearish factors included (1) disappointment that ECB President Draghi failed to provide details on the ECB’s plan to buy private securities, which prompted short-covering in EUR/USD, and (2) strength in the yen after USD/JPY fell to a 2-week low as the slump in global stocks fueled safe-haven demand for the yen. Closes: Dollar index -0.371 (-0.43%), EUR/USD -0.0046 (+0.37%), USD/JPY -0.47 (-0.43%).

Nov WTI crude oil (CLX14 -0.57%) this morning is down -29 cents (-0.32%) and Nov gasoline (RBX14 -0.66%) is down -0.0122 (-0.51%). Nov crude and Nov gasoline prices on Thursday settled mixed as Nov crude recovered from a 17-month low and closed higher after the dollar weakened: CLX4 +0.28 (+0.31%), RBXX4 -0.0406 (-1.66%). Nov gasoline posted a 3-3/4 year low on bearish factors that included (1) Saudi Arabia’s cut in its official selling price for crude to Asia to a 6-year low, suggesting that Saudi Arabia does not plan on cutting production and instead wants to protect its share of OPEC output, and (2) increased OPEC output after OPEC Sep crude oil production rose to 30.935 million bpd, the most in 13 months.