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MARKET ANALYSIS: Markets May Show Tentativeness Ahead Of Earnings(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - The major US index futures are pointing to a slightly higher opening on Tuesday, although the mood looks tentative, given the magnitude of the gains. With not many economic catalysts to drive trading, the markets' pre-occupation is likely to be on the unfolding reporting season, which will be kick started by the release of the earnings by Aluminum giant Alcoa (AA). European stocks are trading moderately lower as the weakness triggered by overbought concerns linger. Valuation concerns hit US stocks yet again on Monday, sending the major averages notably lower. The major averages opened lower and declined steadily until late trading before trimming some of their losses. The Dow Industrials ended down 166.84 points or 1.02% at 16,246, the S&P 500 Index closed 20.05 points or 1.08% lower at 1,845 and the Nasdaq Composite Index ended at 4,080, down 47.97 points or 1.16%. Twenty-three of the thirty Dow components ended lower and one stock was unchanged, while the remaining six stocks advanced. Visa (V), Pfizer (PFE), Nike (NKE), Home Depot (HD), Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) were among the biggest decliners of the session. On the other hand, Procter & Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC) and IBM (IBM) rose notably. Among the sectors, financial, retail, energy, basic resource, housing, computer hardware, semiconductor and transportation stocks moved notably to the downside. On the economic front, the Federal Reserve reported that outstanding consumer credit increased by USD16.5 billion in February. Non-revolving credit tied to auto loans climbed by USD18.9 billion, while revolving credit tied to credit card loans fell by USD2.4 billion. With Monday's drop, the Dow Industrial settled close to a near-term support level. Currently, the index has support around 16,269. Further downward, the index has support around its 50 and 100-day moving averages, currently at 16,142 and 16,148, respectively. On the upside, the index has resistance around 16,269, its 21-day moving average, currently at 16,334, 16,409 and 16,528. Commodity, Currency Markets Crude oil futures are climbing USD0.85 to USD101.29 a barrel after declining USD0.70 to USD100.44 a barrel on Monday. Gold futures are currently rising USD13.20 to USD1,311.50 an ounce. On Monday, gold fell USD5.20 to USD1,298.30 an ounce. Among currencies, the US dollar is trading at 102.27 yen compared to the 103.10 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at USD1.3786 compared to yesterday's USD1.3742. Asia The Asian markets closed mixed, as stimulus hopes generated positive sentiment in some of the markets and offset some of the weakness triggered by the negative lead from Wall Street overnight. The Japanese market was hurt by the nonchalant stance of the Bank of Japan, which opted to stay on course with its current monetary policy despite a sales tax increase that became effective this month. The Nikkei 225 average languished below the unchanged line throughout the session before closing down 201.97 points or 1.36% at 14,607. A majority of stocks retreated, led lower by Takeda Pharma, Minebea, Softbank and Daiwa Securities. Australia's All Ordinaries also spent the better part of the session below the unchanged line, ending down 6.90 points or 0.13% at 5,409. Most sectors moved to the downside, with healthcare stocks seeing marked weakness. On the other hand, material, real estate, energy and healthcare stocks advanced modestly. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,597, up 219.82 points or 0.98%, and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 39.45 points or 1.92% before closing at 2,098. On the economic front, the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged and maintained its upbeat economic outlook even after the government raised the sales tax this month for the first time since 1997. The policy board decided to maintain the annual pace of growth in the monetary base at 60 trillion yen to 70 trillion yen. A report released by Japan's Ministry of Finance showed that Japan's trade deficit narrowed to 533.4 billion yen in February from 2.345 trillion yen in January. Economists expected a bigger deficit of 593.6 billion yen. However, the current account surplus was narrower than expected at 612.7 billion yen. Business confidence in Australia receded in March, according to the latest survey from National Australia Bank. The corresponding business confidence index fell to 4 in March from 7 in February. The index for business conditions inched up to 1 from 0 in the previous month. Europe After opening higher, European stocks saw some volatility in early trading and have moved lower since then. German sugar producer Suedzucker reported a decline in its EBIT for its fiscal year 2013-14 and also forecast a lower operating profit for 2014-15. Meanwhile, the Bank of France French said the French economy likely grew 0.2% in the first quarter of 2014, in line with its earlier estimate. The central bank's survey also showed that the business sentiment indicator for the manufacturing sector rose to 99 from 98 in February. The sentiment indicator for the services sector remained unchanged at 94 in March. UK industrial production grew more-than-expected in February, driven by strong contribution by oil and gas extraction. The UK National Statistical Office reported that industrial production grew 0.9% in February compared to a month ago, when it remained flat. The growth far exceeded the 0.3% increase estimated by economists. Manufacturing output climbed 1%, which was faster than the 0.3% rise seen in January. US Economic Reports The Treasury Department will announce the results of its auction of USD30 billion worth of three-year notes at 1 pm ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota is due to speak in Rochester, Minnesota at 1:30 pm ET. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser will speak on prudential regulation in Philadelphia at 2:45 pm ET. Additionally, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is scheduled to participate on an IMF panel on fiscal policy and managing the transition to normality at 4 pm ET. Stocks in Focus Swift Transportation (SWFT) announced that it now expects adjusted first quarter earnings of 11-13 cents per share, with the weak numbers attributed to severe winter weather and its impact on volume, fuel and maintenance expenses as well as insurance and claims expenses. Intel (INTC) announced that beginning with its first-quarter earnings report on April 15, the company will revise the presentation of its operating segments to reflect changes in its organizational model. The net revenue as well as the operating income/loss will include break-ups of PC Client Group, Data Center Group, Internet of Things Group, Mobile and Communications Group, Software and services operating segments and All other. A.Schulman (SHLM) reported second quarter adjusted net income from continuing operations of 39 cents per share on revenues of USD588.51 million. The company raised its 2014 adjusted net income guidance to USD2.23 to USD2.28 per share. The results exceeded estimates and the guidance was positive. BNY Mellon (BK) announced a 13% increase in its quarterly dividend to 17 cents per share. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |