Day Traders Diary

8/21/14

U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market highs amid upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover three points above fair value, which puts the benchmark index on track to challenge its all-time closing high of 1987.98 and the intraday high of 1991.39. Participants have received several quarterly reports since yesterday's close with results coming in somewhat mixed.

On the economic front, weekly initial claims will be reported at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 308K), while Existing Home Sales for July (consensus 5.00 million), August Philadelphia Fed Survey (consensus 15.5), and July Leading Indicators (expected 0.7%) will all be released at 10:00 ET.
Treasuries hold slim losses with the 10-yr yield up one basis point at 2.44%.
In U.S. corporate news of note:
Dollar Tree (DLTR 55.00, 0.00): flat after missing earnings estimates and guiding full-year earnings below consensus. However, the company boosted its revenue and comparable store sales guidance.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 35.30, +0.18): +0.5% following its in-line earnings on better than expected revenue.
Hormel Foods (HRL 49.80, +1.94): +4.1% in reaction to its better than expected results.
Sears Holdings (SHLD 33.91, -2.04): -5.7% after missing earnings and revenue estimates.
Stage Stores (SSI 16.84, -1.66): -9.0% after missing estimates and guiding below consensus.
Reviewing overnight developments:
Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei +0.9%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.7%
In economic data:
China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.3 from 51.7 (expected 51.5)
Japan's Manufacturing PMI jumped to 52.4 from 50.5 (consensus 51.7)
Hong Kong's CPI climbed to 4.0% year-over-year from 3.6% (consensus 3.5%)
Australia's CB Leading Index rose 0.4% month-over-month (prior 0.2%)
New Zealand's Visitor Arrivals fell 0.5% month-over-month (prior -0.3%), while Credit Card Spending increased 4.5% year-over-year (last 6.0%)
In news:
Japanese equities outperformed after a report in Nikkei indicated the government plans to earmark JPY1 trillion in next year's budget to build a stimulus fund to offset the effects of a sales tax hike planned for the fall.
Major European indices trade higher across the board. Great Britain's FTSE +0.3%, Germany's DAX +0.6%, and France's CAC +0.8%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX +1.1% and Italy's MIB +1.6%
Participants received several data points:
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.8 from 51.8 (expected 51.3), while Services PMI slipped to 53.5 from 54.2, as expected
Germany's Manufacturing PMI ticked down to 52.0 from 52.4 (consensus 51.8), while Services PMI slipped to 56.4 from 56.7 (expected 55.7)
French Manufacturing PMI fell to 46.5 from 47.8 (forecast 47.8), while Services PMI improved to 51.1 from 50.4 (expected 50.0)
Great Britain's Retail Sales ticked up 0.1% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior 0.2%), while the year-over-year reading rose 2.6% (expected 3.0; prior 3.4%). Core Retail sales increased 0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; last -0.1%), while the year-over-year reading rose 3.4% (consensus 3.4%; prior 3.8%)
Among news of note:
Markets in Italy and Spain outperform amid strength in financials. Italy's UBI Banca and Banco Popolare are both up near 2.5%, while Spain's Caixabank and Bankinter hold respective gains of 1.4% and 1.8%.

All comments contained herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The firm does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties regarding results from it's usage.