Day Traders Diary

9/4/12

U.S. equity futures are pointing to a modestly lower start to the session, following lowered guidance from FedEx (FDX 85.05, -2.49) and mixed trading overseas. S&P futures are currently down 0.4%.

Overnight, Asian markets finished in the red, while European indices are mixed. The Asian markets were faced with disappointing data which showed modest misses on some key regional points. Australia's second quarter GDP growth was reported at 0.6%, ten basis points shy of expectations. China's HSBC Services PMI fell to a one-year low of 52.0, which was also below expectations. Meanwhile, China's Finance Minister indicated he is not optimistic on the current export situation. Another report suggested China's Industrial Production for 2012 could be running behind last year's 13.9% increase.

In Europe, although Germany's Services PMI figure was in-line with expectations, France's big miss on its Services PMI (49.2 versus 50.2 expected), helped drag down the Eurozone reading under expectations. Additionally, markets may have been initially disappointed that the European Central Bank remained mum on its bond buying intentions, after speculation crept into markets late yesterday that the Central Bank could lay out details. Elsewhere, Germany's Christian Democratic Party Leader Michael Fuchs warned that excessive bond buying by the European Central Bank could be inflationary and that Greece can be assisted if 'she does her homework.' Finally, the German Bund auction failed to attract the expected $5 billion euro in bids. Nearing midday, Germany's DAX is up 0.4%, France's CAC is higher by 0.2%, and UK's FTSE is down 0.4%.

In U.S. corporate news, FedEx (FDX 85.05, -2.49) is down 2.8% after cutting its first quarter outlook. The lower guidance is noteworthy as the shipper serves as a bellwether for overall economic health. Peer UPS (UPS 71.90, -1.80) is down 2.4% in the wake of the guidance cut.

Pluristem (PSTI 4.67, +0.48) is up 11.5% after announcing that the company's stem cell treatment saved the life of a third bone marrow disease patient.

Dollar General (DG 53.00, +2.34) is higher by 4.6% after beating on earnings and reporting in-line revenues.

Capital One (COF 55.60, -0.89) is lower by 1.6% after the company announced a secondary common stock offering which will result in 54 million additional shares available to investors.

The MBA Mortgage Index showed a 2.5% decrease in new mortgage applications over the past week. A decrease of 4.3% was expected. The refinance index pointed to a 3.0% decrease which is the lowest level since May.

Nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs will be reported at 8:30 ET.

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