Day Traders Diary
2/26/14
U.S. equity futures display modest pre-market gains despite cautious overseas action. The S&P 500 futures trade six points above fair value.Reviewing overnight developments:
Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.5%, and Japan's Nikkei -0.5%.
In economic data:
Hong Kong's GDP rose 1.1% quarter-over-quarter (0.9% consensus, 0.5% prior) while the year-over-year reading increased 3.0% (3.1% expected, 2.9% prior).
Australia's Construction Work Done fell 1.0% quarter-over-quarter (0.7% consensus, 3.0% last).
South Korea's Consumer Confidence ticked down to 108 from 109, as expected.
Singapore's industrial production rose 3.9% year-over-year (6.8% expected, 6.4% previous).
Among news of note:
Bank of Japan board member Koji Ishida said the country's recovery remains on track even though Q2 GDP could come in below expectations due to the sales tax hike that is expected to be introduced during the quarter.
Core European indices hover in the red while peripheral markets outperform. Germany's DAX -0.3%, Great Britain's FTSE -0.3%, and France's CAC -0.4%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.1% and Spain's IBEX +0.1%.
Participants received several economic data points:
Germany's GfK Consumer Climate ticked up to 8.5 from 8.3 (8.2 expected).
Great Britain's Q4 GDP was left unchanged at 0.7% quarter-over-quarter, but the year-over-year reading was revised down to 2.7% from 2.8% (2.8% expected). Separately, Business Investment rose 2.4% quarter-over-quarter (2.6% consensus, 2.0% prior).
Italy's wage inflation came in at 0.6% month-over-month (0.0% prior).
Norway's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6% from 3.5% (3.5% consensus).
In news:
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Ian McCafferty said the current pound strength is not a major problem for exporters, but he would be concerned if the currency continues climbing. Since the start of the year, the pound has appreciated by 0.7% against the dollar.
In U.S. corporate news:
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 38.50, +2.51): +7.0% after reporting an earnings beat on below-consensus revenue.
DreamWorks Animation (DWA 31.57, -3.63): -10.3% following its bottom-line miss on below-consensus revenue.
Dollar Tree (DLTR 50.86, -1.82): -3.5% after reporting disappointing results and guiding lower.
First Solar (FSLR 50.38, -7.65): -13.2% after missing on earnings and revenue. In addition, the company guided its first-quarter results below consensus.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR 75.50, -3.15): -4.0% despite beating earnings estimates by one cent.
Sodastream (SODA 39.00, -0.08): -0.2% after beating bottom-line estimates by two cents.
Target (TGT 56.75, +0.24): +0.4% after reporting results in-line with the January 10 warning. The retailer guided first-quarter and full-year earnings below analyst estimates.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 8.5% to follow last week's decline of 4.1%.
The New Home Sales report for January will be released at 10:00 ET.
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