U.S. equity futures rose Friday morning on a wave of strength from Europe and Asia. With little in the way of major economic releases today, bulls look to be having their way as commodities and markets are rising across the board heading into the weekend.
Top News
In other news around the markets:
- S&P 500 futures were up 0.75 percent, showing considerable strength
- Gold is up 1.84 percent to 1,417.60
- EUR/USD rose 0.27 percent to 1.3085
- European commodity producers on the rise
- Lenovo said to be in talks to buy International Business Machine's (IBM) server business
Asian markets were up across the board overnight as politicians continued cautionary rhetoric towards Japan's monetary policy. The Shanghai composite was up 2.14 percent to 2,244.64 while the Nikkei rose 0.73 percent to 13,316.48. Also, the Korean Kospi rose 0.35 percent to 1,906.75 as the Hang Seng index shot up 2.33 percent to 22,013.57.
European Markets
European shares rose overnight, recovering slightly from their biggest weekly sell off since November, riding a wave of growth from the region's commodity producers. Leading the rally was the French CAC, up 1.18 percent to 3,641.87 while the Italian FTSE MIB index was close behind, gaining 0.64 percent to 6,283.72. The German DAX was also on the rise, gaining 0.53 percent to 7,513.24 while the Spanish IBEX rose 1.57 percent to 7,935.
Commodities
Commodities were higher this morning following a down week of trading. Both WTI crude and Brent crude were on the rise, gaining 1.01 percent to $88.47 and 0.81 percent to $100.39 respectively, while gold and silver both rallied, gaining 1.61 percent to $1,415.13 and 1.51 percent to $23.58. Finally, copper continued to fall this morning, losing 1.32 percent to 3.16.
Currencies
Currencies had a euro bias this morning as the euro-zone rally sent currency values upwards. The EUR/USD rose 0.27 percent to 1.3085 while the EUR/JPY also rose, gaining 1.33 percent to 129.81. The USD/JPY pair was also on the rise, gaining 1.07 percent to 99.18, nearing that all important 100 dollar level, while the U.S. dollar index fell 0.11 percent to 82.468.
Earnings Reported YesterdayGoogle (GOOG) reported Q1 EPS of $11.58 versus the estimated $10.69, beating by $0.89. Revenue came in at $11.0B versus the estimated $14.22B, excluding Traffic Acquisition costsMicrosoft (MSFT) reported Q3 EPS of $0.65 versus the estimated $0.76, missing by $0.11. Revenue came in at $20.40B versus the estimated $20.68BInternational Business Machines (IBM) reports Q1 EPS of $3.00 versus the estimated $3.05, missing by $0.05. Revenue came in at $23.40B versus the estimated $24.69B.Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reports Q1 EPS of $(0.13) versus the estimated $(0.17), beating by $0.04. Revenue came in at $1.09B versus the estimated $1.05BE*TRADE Financial (ETFC) reports Q1 EPS of $0.12 versus the estimated $0.12, inline. Revenue came in at $419.90M versus the estimated $438.32MCapital One Financial (COF) reports Q1 EPS of $1.79 versus the estimated $1.60, beating by $0.19. Revenue came in at $5.60B versus the estimated $5.45BIntuitive Surgical (ISRG) reports Q1 EPS of $4.56 versus the estimated $4.00, beating by $0.56. Revenue came in at $611.40M versus the estimated $582.92MChipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) reports Q1 EPS of $2.45 versus the estimated $2.14, beating by $0.31. Revenue came in at $726.80M versus the estimated $724.87MPre-Market Movers
Stocks moving in the pre-market included:
Carnival Corp (CCL) shares rose 1.74 percent in pre-market trading as investors continued to pile into the stock following the company's announced $600M investment into its fleet.Newmont Mining (NEM) was also up, gaining 2.23 percent in the pre-market as gold prices continued to rally.International Business Machines (IBM) was down as well, falling 4.47 percent after missing on the top and bottom lines following the close Thursday.Earnings
Notable companies reporting earnings Friday include:
General Electric (GE) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $0.35 vs. $0.34 a year ago.McDonald's (MCD) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $1.27 vs. $1.23 a year ago.SAP (SAP) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $0.58 vs. $0.49 a year ago.Schlumberger (SLB) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $1.01 vs. $0.98 a year ago.Honeywell (HON) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $1.14 vs. $1.04 a year ago.Under Armour (UA) is expected to report quarterly EPS of $0.03 vs. $0.14 a year ago.Economics
The economic Calendar for Friday is pretty light on the U.S. side with only the ECRI Weekly annualized report coming out and an expected speech by FOMC member Jeremy Stein.
On the international side we will be seeing the German PPI, Spanish Trade Balance, Italian Industrial Sales, and Canadian CPI.
BY Jake L'Ecuyer