Colin Cieszynski
The Before the Bell report is compiled by editors of The Globe and Mail and is updated throughout the morning to reflect latest developments. Colin Cieszynski, Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Market Technician, is chief market strategist with CMC Markets.
Stock markets around the world have paused overnight and into this morning. U.S. index futures and the Nikkei are down slightly, while the FTSE and Dax are up slightly.
Overnight news flow was relatively light. In terms of earnings, First Solar beat the street, while Newmont Mining disappointed. Tesla Motors reports after the close today. U.K. GDP was revised down to 2.0 per cent from 2.2 per cent, but this has had only a minor impact on GBP.
Political concerns swirling around Europe continue to impact currency trading. The euro is under pressure today, falling toward $1.0500 against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, defensive plays, like gold and the Japanese yen, are on the rise again. The loonie is down slightly against the greenback.
Canadian retail sales in December missed expectations. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales were down 0.3 per cent on the month, versus a forecast for a gain of 0.5 per cent
Today's main event for potential trading action is the release of minutes from the last Fed meeting with traders looking for hints as to whether a rate hike could be coming in March. Fed speakers this week have generally been indicating the central bank remains on course for three increases this year. Overnight, however, San Francisco Fed president John Williams and Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester indicated fiscal measures from the Trump administration could influence their plans. Also note Fed governor Jerome Powell, a permanent voter, is giving a rare speech today, which could attract some attention.
Crude oil is giving back some of Tuesday's gains with WTI and Brent down 0.6 per cent. Oil could be active today as OPEC reviews compliance with production cuts. Late in the day, U.S. API inventories are due followed by DOE inventories plus natural gas tomorrow. Natgas may also remain in the spotlight with a really warm spell in consuming regions cutting into heating demand during peak season.
Now, here is a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.
MARKET DATA:
Futures (as of about 8:30 a.m. ET)
Dow -0.01 per cent; S&P 500 -0.10 per cent; Nasdaq: +0.0 per cent; TSX 60 -0.09 per cent
Equities
Japan's Nikkei -0.01 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.24 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.99 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.12 per cent
London's FTSE +0.13 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.11 per cent
Commodities
WTI crude oil (Nymex.) -0.52 per cent at $54.05 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex, April) -0. 02 per cent at $1,238.60 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex, May) -1.02 per cent at $2.73 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies
Canadian dollar -0.296 at 75.83 cents (U.S.)
U.S. dollar index unchanged at 100.95
Bonds
Canada 10-year bond yield +0.14 at 1.7 per cent
KEY ECONOMIC RELEASES
Euro Area consumer price index (CPI)
Germany Lfo Business Climate
U.K. real GDP
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada retail sales for December. Consensus is an increase of 0.2 per cent from November. Excluding automobiles, the projection is an increase of 0.8 per cent.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for January. Consensus is an annualized rate increase of 1.1 per cent.
(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Federal Open Market Committee minutes from Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting released
Earnings include: Alleghany Corp.; Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Clarke Inc.; Continental Resources Inc.; CRH Medical Corp.; DISH Network Corp.; Energy Transfer Equity LP; Energy Transfer Partners LP; Eversource Energy; Exchange Income Corp.; First Majestic Silver Corp.; Fitbit Inc.; Garmin Ltd.; High Liner Foods Inc.; Horizon North Logistics Inc.; Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.; HP Inc.; Hudbay Minerals Inc.; IAMGOLD Corp.; L Brands Inc.; Lundin Mining Corp.; Maple Leaf Foods Inc.; Pason Systems Inc.; PHX Energy Services Corp.; Public Storage; Southern Co.; Sunoco LP; Tesla Inc.; TJX Companies Inc.; Trican Well Service Ltd.; Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd.; Western Energy Services Corp.; Western Gas Partners LP
KEY STOCKS TO WATCH
Also see: Wednesday's small-caps to watch
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Canadian meat packaging company Maple Leaf Foods Inc.'s (MFI-T) quarterly profit more than doubled as margins in its prepared meats business improved. Net earnings rose to $76.2-million, or 56 Canadian cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $33.3-million, or 24 Canadian cents, a year earlier. Maple Leaf's total sales rose to $828.2-million from $873.1-million
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U.S. satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. (DISH-Q) reported that it added pay-TV subscribers in the fourth quarter, while analysts were expecting the company to lose subscribers. Dish said it added about 28,000 pay-TV subscribers on a net basis in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Analysts on average estimated Dish would lose 87,000 subscribers, according to market research firm FactSet StreetAccount. Net income attributable to Dish was $343 million, or 70 cents per share, in the quarter compared with a loss of $125 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.
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U.S. luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL-N) reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by strong demand, and the company raised the low end of its deliveries forecast for the current year. Toll Brothers now expects to sell 6,700-7,500 homes in fiscal 2017, compared with its previous forecast of 6,500-7,500 units. The company, whose homes can cost more than $2 million, said orders rose about 22 percent to 1,522 homes in the first quarter ended Jan. 31.
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TJX Cos Inc. (TJX-N), the parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, reported better-than-expected profit and comparable store sales, as its discounted offerings attracted shoppers during the holiday season. The company, which raised its quarterly dividend, said comparable store sales rose 3 percent in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28.
With files from wire services