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 futures have been losing ground since early morning, initially edging higher before retracing those gains and are now well in the red. Dow futures are down about 0.31 per cent, pointing to a decidedly weaker start as regular trading gets underway at 930 a.m. (ET).
Expectations are low that North American markets will snap back from the losses suffered on Thursday amid ongoing worries about Chinese economic growth and the tensions in the Ukraine.
A major obstacle: a referendum is expected to be held on Sunday aimed at deciding whether Crimea will become part of Russia. The vote has already been declared illegal by the U.S. and other Western powers, who are warning they will impose sanctions against Russia if it proceeds.
That in itself may not be enough to spark a major downturn in the markets, but there are worries the vote will further escalate the crisis. The situation in the Ukraine remains volatile, with violent clashes overnight in the city of Donetsk after pro-Russian demonstrators forced themselves through a police cordon and cashed with anti-Russian demonstrators. There have also been reports of a buildup of the Russian military, which conducted more exercises near Ukraine on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today in an effort to halt the referendum, but expectations are low he'll be successful.
Meanwhile, China continues to be a worry amid recent economic data suggesting growth rates are slowing. The big banks are already cutting their growth expectations: Merrill Lynch, for instance, cut its growth forecast for 2014 to 7.3 per cent for 2014, down from its previous prediction of 8 per cent.
Markets may have already factored in the negative events in China and the Ukraine - gains in the S&P 500 have now been wiped out for the year - but investors are left with little reason to take on more risk at this moment.
In overnight markets, Japan had a particularly tough session, falling 3.2 per cent, as the yen strengthened - not helpful to the country's export sector. Russian stocks are down about 5 per cent to a four-year low. Copper is up about 1 per cent this morning, but it's still down nearly 5 per cent over the last five trading days.
Here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
Futures: S&P 500 -0.27 per cent; Dow -0.31 per cent; Nasdaq -0.20 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.00 per cent
Shanghai composite index -0.75 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -3.29 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.18 per cent
Germany's DAX -0.23 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.58 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Apr) +0.15 per cent at $98.09 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Apr) -0.10 per cent at $1,371.00 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex May) +0.89 per cent at $2.95 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 90.25 (U.S.), down 0.0009
U.S. dollar index down 0.10 at 79.51
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.62 per cent, down 0.03
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
The U.S. producer-price index in February decreased 0.1 per cent from the prior month. The figure for January was unrevised, rising 0.2 per cent. The consensus call for February was for a rise of 0.2 per cent.
(9 a.m. ET) Canada releases the MLS home price index in February, forecast to rise 4.9 per cent from a year earlier after rising 4.8 per cent in January.
(955 a.m. ET) The latest consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan. The consensus is for a reading of 82.0, up from February's reading of 81.6.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
General Mills Inc said it expects adjusted earnings of 61-62 cents per share for the third quarter. Analysts were expecting 68 cents on average. Shares are down 2.5 per cent in the premarket.
Stella-Jones announced a 40 per cent increase in its quarterly dividend.
Liberty Media is dropping its bid to buy the remaining stake of satellite radio provider Sirius that it doesn't already own.
Earnings include: Stella-Jones; InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Desjardins Securities downgraded Kirkland Lake Gold to "sell" from "hold" and maintained a $3.50 (Canadian) price target, on liquidity concerns and operational uncertainty.
Raymond James upgraded SilverCrest Mines to "outperform" from "market perform" and hiked its price target to $3.25 (Canadian) from $2.30.
Canaccord Genuity downgraded Premium Brands Holdings to "hold" from "buy" and cut its price target to $21 (Canadian) from $22.
Canaccord upgraded Pure Technologies to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $8 (Canadian) from $7.25.
Desjardins cut its price target on Transat AT to $15 (Canadian0 from $18 and kept a "buy" rating. CIBC World Markets cut its price target to $12.25 from $14.50 and maintained a "sector perform" rating.
Desjardins hiked its price target on Cascades to $8.50 (Canadian) from $7.50 and kept a "buy" rating.
Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe's to "outperform" from "perform" and raised its price target to $57 (U.S.) from $50.
Nomura Securities raised its price target on Facebook to $84 (U.S.) from $78 and reiterated a "buy" rating.
Goldman Sachs upgraded NuStar Energy to "buy" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $62 (U.S.) from $49.
Sterne Agee initiated coverage on Alcoa with a "buy" rating and $15 (U.S.) price target.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:
What Sunday's Crimea vote means for markets.
Popular market memes that are partially or completely not true.
News ETFs are starting to trade that follow what the gurus are buying.
Traders are beating market indexes by borrowing tools from sports.
The flawed premise behind the Candy Crush IPO.
American's 60-year love affair with frozen TV dinners is over.
Five habits of the very best investors.
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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