The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.
U.S. stock indexes are poised for more gains this morning after the World Bank provided a shot of confidence to traders by raising its global economic forecasts for this year. Another earnings beat from a banking giant in the U.S. also isn't hurting.
Futures for the S&P 500 are up 0.1 per cent, off their highs from earlier this morning. The S&P Toronto 60 index has turned slightly negative, with weakness in the gold sector this morning possibly meaning another day of underperformance.
The loonie is continuing its slide against the greenback, briefly dipping below 91 cents (U.S.) in overnight trading, a multi-year low. It has since recovered modestly, trading at 91.25 cents.
European stocks are up solidly, and overnight in Asia, Tokyo stocks posted their biggest one-day gain in four months as the Japanese yen resumed its downwards trend. It was a different story in China, where the Shanghai index closed down 0.2 per cent after data from the country's central bank showed banking lending and money supply growth in December missed forecasts - which did nothing to alleviate liquidity concerns.
The World Bank now sees the global economy expanding 3.2 per cent this year, up from a June projection of 3 per cent, and up from 2.4 per cent in 2013. That sets a positive backdrop for corporate earnings growth, which is key to keeping the market from looking overvalued. It's still very early in the fourth-quarter earnings season, but here's how the numbers stack up as of early this morning: with 5 per cent of S&P 500 companies having reported, 53.8 per cent have beaten earnings expectations, which is below the 63 per cent historical average, according to Thomson Reuters. But about 62 per cent have beaten on revenue, above the long-term 55 per cent average.
Watch for more speculation today over the Fed's next steps on scaling back its stimulus measures: the Fed Beige Book will be released this afternoon, and two more Fed officials are scheduled to speak: Chicago Fed President Charles Evens and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhard. On Tuesday, two other Fed officials gave strong hints that quantitative easing measures will be coming to an end before the end of this year - and that it was possible that the pace of tapering could even pick up.
Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
Futures: S&P 500 +0.13 per cent; Dow +0.14 per cent; Nasdaq +0.33 per cent; S&P Toronto -0.08 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.49 per cent
Shanghai composite index -0.19 per cent
Japan's Nikkei +2.51 per cent
London's FTSE 100 +0.37 per cent
Germany's DAX +1.16 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.67 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Mar) +0.54 per cent at $93.28 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Feb) -0.55 per cent at $1,238.50 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) -0.30 per cent at $3.33 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 91.21 (U.S.), vs. 91.34 at Tuesday's North American close.
U.S. dollar index up 0.24 at 80.90
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.87 per cent, up 0.001
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
The U.S. Producer Price Index for December rose 0.4 per cent from November, matching Street estimates. Excluding food and energy, it rose 0.3 per cent, higher than the 0.1 per cent forecast.
The U.S. Empire Manufacturing index for January was 12.51 in January from December, higher than the 3.50 economists expected.
(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Federal Reserve releases Beige Book, which provides insight into U.S. economic conditions.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Bank of America shares climbed 2 per cent in the premarket after reporting earnings per share of 29 cents on revenue of $21.49-billion, beating analyst expectations of 26 cents and $21.2-billion, respectively.
Other earnings today include: Sirius XM Canada; Boston Private Financial Holdings; CSX Corp.; Kinder Morgan Energy Partners; and Netflix.
General Motors said late Tuesday it will resume paying a quarterly dividend for the first time in nearly six years and named a new CFO. This morning, the company's new executive team is providing an outlook for this year, calling for a slight uptick in pretax profits, but flat margins. Shares are down 1 per cent in the premarket.
Magna International shares are down 2.5 per cent in the premarket after forecasting between $33.8-billion (U.S.) and $35.5-billion of total sales this year. Analysts on average were expecting $35.8-billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Osisko Mining called the Goldcorp hostile takeover offer too low and formed an independent committee to review options.
Apple shares are up nearly 2 per cent in the premarket after China Mobile's chairman said its deal with Apple to sell iPhones won't be limited to handsets, but will also entail broad cooperation between the two companies.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded Intel to "outperform" from "market perform" with a price target of $31 (U.S.), up from $21.
Raymond James upgraded Paladin Energy to "market perform" from "underperform" and hiked its price target to 50 cents (Canadian) from 30 cents.
Beacon Research raised its price target on Petrowest to $1.60 (Canadian) from $1.25 and maintained a "buy" rating.
Nomura Securities started coverage on several Internet stocks, including Twitter (neutral rating and $60 U.S. price target); Google (buy rating and $1,300 target); and Facebook (buy rating and $65 target).
Nomura Securities initiated coverage on AMC Networks with a "neutral" rating and $70 (U.S.) price target.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:
The most overrated argument for equities.
The Onion's 2014 investing tips.
Meet an investor who grew his TFSA to $300,000 with a single penny stock.
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For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities.
Darcy Keith