Day Traders Diary

10/23/14

U.S. equity futures trade higher despite cautious action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover almost 17 points above fair value after spiking off their lows at the start of the European session. Economic data received since yesterday's close has been a supportive factor with headline Manufacturing PMI readings from China, Japan, and the eurozone coming in ahead of expectations.

Treasuries hold modest losses with the 10-yr yield up two basis points at 2.24%.

Weekly Initial Claims will be released at 8:30 ET (Briefing.com consensus 285K) while the FHFA Housing Price Index for August will cross the wires at 9:00 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the Leading Indicators report for September (consensus 0.5%), which will be released at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

3M (MMM 140.90, +1.95): +1.4% after beating earnings estimates on below-consensus revenue. Also of note, the company narrowed its full-year 2014 guidance.
AT&T (T 34.00, -0.50): -1.5% after reporting a one-cent miss.
Caterpillar (CAT 99.50, +4.93): +5.2% following better than expected earnings/revenue, and guidance.
Celgene (CELG 93.34, -1.42): -1.5% after beating estimates and guiding higher
Comcast (CMCSA 52.00, +0.51): +1.0% after beating earnings estimates.
Credit Suisse (CS 26.34, +0.33): +1.3% in reaction to better than expected results.
General Motors (GM 32.14, +0.83): +2.7% after beating on both metrics.
NXP Semiconductor (NXPI 66.20, +2.07): +3.2% after beating earnings and revenue estimates.
Logitech (LOGI 13.58, +0.78): +6.1% in reaction to a bottom-line beat.
Under Armour (UA 62.95, -3.10): -4.7% despite reporting a one-cent beat and boosting its guidance.
United Continental (UAL 48.18, -0.88): -1.8% despite beating earnings estimates.
Reviewing overnight developments:

Asian markets ended lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%, Japan's Nikkei -0.4%, and China's Shanghai Composite -1.0%
In economic data:
China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.4 from 50.2 (expected 50.3)
Japan's Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.8 from 51.7 (consensus 52.1)
Australia's NAB Quarterly Business Confidence held at 6
New Zealand's CPI rose 0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.5%; previous 0.3%) while the year-over-year reading increased 1.0% (consensus 1.3%; prior 1.6%)
Singapore's CPI eased to 0.6% year-over-year from 0.9% (expected 1.0%)
In news:
China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI came in ahead of estimates, but the output index fell to 50.7 from 51.3 and the employment component declined as well.
Major European indices trade in mixed fashion. Germany's DAX +0.1%, France's CAC +0.2%, and Great Britain's FTSE -0.4%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX -0.3% and Italy's MIB -0.4%
Economic data was plentiful:
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7 from 50.3 (expected 49.9) while Services PMI held at 52.4 (expected 52.0)
Germany's Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.8 from 49.9 (consensus 49.5) while Services PMI fell to 54.8 from 55.7 (expected 55.0)
Great Britain's Retail Sales fell 0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; previous 0.4%) while the year-over-year reading increased 2.7% (consensus 2.8%; prior 3.7%). Core Retail Sales slipped 0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; previous 0.3%) while the year-over-year reading increased 3.1% (consensus 3.4%; last 4.4%). Separately, BBA Mortgage Approvals came in at 39,300 (expected 41,500; last 41,400) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -6 from -4 (expected -4)
French Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.3 from 48.8 (expected 48.5) while Services PMI slipped to 48.1 from 48.4 (consensus 48.2)
Spain's Unemployment Rate fell to 23.7% from 24.5% (expected 24.3%)
Among news of note:
The European Commission is expected to request France to add EUR6 billion in spending cuts to its 2015 budget. On a related note, the Commission is reportedly seeking additional details regarding Italy's 2015 budget.

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