Luke KawaThe Globe and Mail
The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the premarket to reflect the latest news developments and market moves. Check back later for updates.
U.S. equity futures are marginally lower ahead of the open of a session in which the world's attention will be focused on Greece once again.
European finance ministers are meeting today in Brussels, and the negotiations between Greece and its creditors will be the primary item on the agenda.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has signalled that he is unwilling to re-open the previous bailout agreement, and threw cold water on the idea that the European Commission was willing to give Greece a six-month extension to reach a deal. While Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has somewhat softened his stance in recent days, there remains a chasm between the two sides.
The posturing ahead of this showdown suggests little hope for a grand bargain to be struck; however, European powers have proven adept at finding short-term compromises that kick the can down the road in the hopes that the larger issues get worked out in the future.
On the other hand, the Greek deputy foreign minister has indicated that both Russia and China have offered to provide it with "economic support," a course of action that, if realized, would surely irk European authorities.
European equities are lower, with a decline of more than 4 per cent in Greece leading the way down.
The near contract for West Texas Intermediate is hovering around $50 per barrel (U.S.) this morning ahead of the U.S. crude oil inventories report. Inventories are expected to have increased by 3.75-million during the week ending Feb. 6.
Last Wednesday, crude declined in the lead-up to this report, which showed stockpiles rose by more than anticipated. Oil prices moved abruptly lower thereafter. "At 413.1-million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years," according to the report. The inventory build-up suggests that the oil market can remain in surplus for an extended period; and thus far, declining rig counts have not translated into lower production.
Details on of upcoming earnings, market results, a preview of the day's key economic releases can be found below.
MARKETS:
Futures:
S&P 500 -0.12 per cent; Dow -0.17 per cent; Nasdaq flat
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.87 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.51 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -0.33 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.43 per cent
Germany's DAX -0.24 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.55 per cent
Stoxx 600 -0.35 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Mar) flat at $50.02 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex Mar) +5.49 per cent at $2.824
Gold (Comex Apr) +0.37 per cent at $1,236.80 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) +0.49 per cent at $2.5640 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 79.29 (U.S.), down 0.0015
U.S. dollar index up 0.042 at 94.8
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 1.9835 per cent, down 0.0132
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
(2 p.m. ET) The U.S. reports its budget deficit, expected to be $18-billion (U.S.) for January.
Markets in Japan are closed for a holiday.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Air Canada reported a mixed set of quarterly results, posting lower-than-anticipated diluted earnings per share of $0.23 in the fourth quarter while revenues came in slightly higher than the consensus estimate.
PepsiCo Inc. beat analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines in the fourth quarter, and management said it would return $8.5 to $9-billion (U.S.) to shareholders through dividends and buying back stock.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has reached an agreement to by five hotels, including the Parc 55 in San Francisco, for a total of $1.76-billion. The company will finance the purchases with the proceeds from its sale of the Waldorf Astoria in New York.
Stryker Corp. announced a 13 per cent increase to its quarterly dividend effective April 30th, which brings the quarterly payout up to $0.345 per share.
Earnings expected: Agnico-Eagle Mines, Air Canada, Calloway REIT, Home Capital Group, Keyera, Mullen Group, Sun Life, Whistler Blackcomb, Acadia Healthcare Company Inc., AOL Inc., Applied Materials Inc., Aramark, BGC Partners Inc., Cisco Sytems, Equifax Inc., Markit Ltd., MetLife Inc., NVIDIA Corp., Penske Automotive, PepsiCo Inc., Sun Life Financial, SunEdison Inc., TAL International, Tesla Motors Inc., Thomson Reuters Corp., Time Warner Inc., TripAdvisor Inc., Whole Foods Market Inc., Yamana Gold Inc.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. was raised to "buy" from "neutral" by Citigroup.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was cut to "neutral" from "overweight" by HSBC.
BMO Nesbitt Burns initiated coverage on Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., and Morgan Stanley and with "outperform" ratings, started off The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. with "market perform" ratings, and rated Wells Fargo & Co. a new "underperform."