Day Traders Diary

3/5/14

U.S. equity futures trade little changed amid cautious overseas action. The S&P 500 futures hover two points above fair value.
Reviewing overnight developments:
Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.9%, and Japan's Nikkei +1.2%.
Economic data was limited:
China's HSBC Services PMI improved to 51.0 from 50.7.
Australia's GDP rose 0.8% quarter-over-quarter (0.7% expected, 0.6% prior) while the year-over-year reading increased 2.8% (2.5% forecast, 2.3% last). Separately, AIG Services Index rose to 55.2 from 49.3.
India's HSBC Services PMI ticked up to 48.8 from 48.3.
In news:
In China, the National People's Congress announced its 2014 GDP target of 7.5%, which matches the forecast from 2013.
Core European indices hover in the red while peripheral markets outperform. France's CAC -0.3%, Germany's DAX -0.3%, and Great Britain's FTSE -0.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.3% and Spain's IBEX +0.3%.
Participants received several economic data points:
Eurozone GDP rose 0.3% quarter-over-quarter while the year-over-year reading increased 0.5%. Both figures matched estimates. Separately, Services PMI improved to 52.6 from 51.7 (51.7 expected) and retail sales increased 1.6% month-over-month (0.8% expected, -1.3% prior).
Germany's Services PMI rose to 55.9 from 55.4 (55.4 consensus).
Great Britain's Services PMI ticked down to 58.2 from 58.3 (58.0 expected).
French Services PMI increased to 47.2 from 46.9 (46.9 forecast).
Italy's Services PMI improved to 52.9 from 49.4 (49.8 consensus).
Spain's Services PMI slipped to 53.7 from 54.9 (55.0 expected).
Among news of note:
European leaders are scheduled to meet tomorrow in Brussels in order to discuss the latest developments in the standoff between Russia and Ukraine.
In U.S. corporate news:

Canadian Solar (CSIQ 41.50, -2.17): -5.0% following its bottom-line miss on below-consensus revenue.
Smith & Wesson (SWHC 12.99, +1.19): +10.1% after beating on earnings and revenue.
YY (YY 90.50, +3.32): +3.8% after reporting better-than-expected results.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 9.4% to follow last week's 8.5% decline.

The ADP Employment Change report for February will be released at 8:15 ET while the February ISM Services report will cross the wires at 10:00 ET. Also of note, the Federal Reserve will release its March Beige Book at 14:00 ET.

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