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. and Canadian markets are likely to open lower this morning, as disappointing manufacturing data in both Europe and Asia has reignited concerns about slowing global economic growth.
Futures for the S&P 500 are down nearly 0.4 per cent, with TSX futures not faring much better. Crude oil and gold prices are relatively steady, but copper - which counts on China for much of its consumption - is down about 1 per cent.
The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 50.0 in November - right at the level that separates contraction from expansion. That was down from a final reading of 50.4 in October and market expectations for 50.3. One bright spot was that new orders accelerated. Also in Asia overnight, Japan reported an unexpected decline in imports in October - although its trade deficit of 710 billion yen was better than expectations for a deficit of 1.05 billion yen. Major Asian stock indexes closed mixed and nearly unchanged.
In Europe, however, traders are reacting more negatively to fresh PMI data there,that showed a flash composite purchasing managers' index for the euro zone for November coming in at 51.4, the lowest level in 16 months and below expectations of 52.2. A similar composite reading for France - which includes the services sector as well as manufacturing - fell to a three-month low and German's own November preliminary manufacturing survey came in at 50.0 versus an expected 51.5.
Add it up, and the picture hasn't changed much: key European and Asians are struggling at a time the U.S. is showing sustainable growth.
A fresh batch of U.S. economic figures are being released this morning as well. Below find a closer look at how they came in and what else is going on today.
MARKETS:
Futures:
S&P 500 -0.35 per cent; Dow -0.35 per cent; Nasdaq -0.32 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.29 per cent
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.10 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.08 per cent
Japan's Nikkei +0.07 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.65 per cent
Germany's DAX -0.85 per cent
France's CAC 40 -1.29 per cent
Stoxx 600 -0.63 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Dec) +0.21 per cent at $74.74 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex Jan) +1.84 per cent at $4.60 (U.S.)
Gold (Comex Dec) +0.04 per cent at $1,194.10 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) -1.12 per cent at $3.00 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 88.25 (U.S.), up 0.0008
U.S. dollar index up 0.03 at 87.67
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.32 per cent, down 0.04
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Canada wholesale trade for September rose 1.8 per cent from August, versus expectations for a 0.3 per cent rise. It was the first time in three months that sales rose.
U.S. initial jobless claims last week were a little higher than expected, 291,000 vs. the estimated 280,000.
U.S. consumer price index for October was up 1.7 per cent from a year ago, in line with forecasts. The core CPI rose 1.8 per cent after rising 1.7 percent in September.
(945 a.m. ET) Market Flash Manufacturing PMI for the U.S. in November.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for October. Consensus is for a 0.4 per cent drop to an annualized rate of 5.15 million.
(10 a.m ET) U.S. releases the Philadelphia Fed Index for November and the leading indicator for October.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Dollar Tree Q3 reported adjusted EPS 69 cents (U.S.) vs. the estimated 64 cents. It also raised its annual sales forecast.
Best Buy Q3 reported adjusted EPS 32 cents (U.S.) vs. the estimated 25 cents. Shares are up 8 per cent in the premarket.
Other earnings today include: RDM; Tembec; Autodesk; Gap; Perry Ellis International; Splunk.
Descartes Systems Group has acquired Pennsylvania-based Airclic Inc for $29.7-million (U.S.). The two companies have complementary technologies used by freight and parcel delivery carriers to manage their logistics.
GoPro shares are down 6 per cent in the premarket after a follow-on-offering of 10.4 million shares priced at $75 per share, a 5.2 percent discount to Wednesday's $79.09 close.
Yahoo Inc struck a deal with Firefox maker Mozilla Corp to replace Google Inc as the default search engine on the Firefox Web browser in the United States, a move that Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said will help boost its flagging search market share.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Desjardins Securities raised its price target on Metro to $98 (Canadian) from $76 and maintained a "buy" rating. RBC Dominion Securities also raised its target to $95 from $88 and maintained an "outperform" rating. BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded its rating to "market perform" from "underperform" and raised its price target to $90 from $69.
Credit Suisse downgraded Alimentation Couche-Tard to "underperform" from "neutral" with a price target of $33 (Canadian).
Piper Jaffray boost its price target on Target to $76 (U.S.) from $68 and maintained an "overweight" rating.
RBC Dominion Securities downgraded athenahealth to "underperform' from "sector perform" and cut its price target to $80 (U.S.) from $115.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:
Useful advice on using two new bond ETFs in taxable accounts.
How to find overbought and oversold markets.
Are junk bonds sending a warning signal?
Is the high-yield divergence a subtle warning for U.S. equities?
The latest M&A boom is going to end badly.
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Have feedback on our daily Before the Bell report and suggestions on how to make it more useful in your investing day? Please contact Inside the Market Editor Darcy Keith at dakeith@globeandmail.com.
Darcy Keith