Friday, February 12, 2010

Indications: Stock futures remain lower after retail report

Stock Assault 2.0 - Artificial Intelligence Stock Market Software Alert Email Print

By Polya Lesova & Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures fell on Friday after China hiked its deposit-reserve ratio, escalating worries over global economic growth and prompting traders to sell stocks and commodities, and buy the U.S. dollar.

Stock futures retained the bulk of early losses after the government reported U.S. retail sales climbed 0.5% in January, more than the 03% jump anticipated by economists.

"While better than expected, January is both a clearance month and gift card redemption month that influences consumer behavior and today's news doesn't move the needle enough to add anything new to the economic outlook," Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co., wrote in an early note.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 50 points, or 0.5%, to 10,060.

S&P 500 futures fell 5.3 points to 1,071.3 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 8.75 points to 1,766.75.

Later economic reports include inventories for December and consumer sentiment for February at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will also release delayed data on petroleum and natural-gas inventories.

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S&P 500 (1 YEAR)

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Equities by Sector• Technology stocks | Energy stocks • Metals stocks | Retail stocks • Financials | Airline stocks | Pharma and Biotech

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/conga/story/misc/markets.html 55637

The People's Bank of China announced Friday it will raise the ratio of reserves banks must set aside by 0.5 percentage points, marking the second such action this year.

The central bank has been tightening monetary policy in an attempt to restrain bank lending. Its moves, however, have raised worries over a potential slowdown in China's economic growth.

"The PBOC move risks eroding any stabilization emerging in global equities" following the European Union's pledge on Thursday to support Greece, said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

The news from China sent the U.S. dollar sharply higher, while it also prompted traders to sell stocks and commodities such as oil and gold.

Oil futures fell $1.16 to $74.12 a barrel, while gold futures dropped $8.80 to $1,088.9 an ounce. The concern is that slowing growth in China will lead to a decline in its appetite for commodities.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 80.56, +0.57, +0.71%) , which tracks the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.5% to 80.46. The euro also was weak, down not just on the China news but also affected by news of a paltry 0.1% expansion of the euro-area economy during the fourth quarter and a downturn in industrial production data. There also was a continued paucity of details over what level of support other European nations will provide debt-ravaged Greece.

Motorola Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!mot/quotes/nls/mot (MOT 6.65, +0.02, +0.30%) rose 3.2% in premarket trade after it said late Thursday that it plans to split itself up into two separate companies.

Skillsoft /quotes/comstock/15*!skil/quotes/nls/skil (SKIL 9.76, +0.07, +0.72%) shares jumped more than 13% after it said a group of private-equity firms will buy it for $1.1 billion, or $10.80 a share.

U.S. equities finished with strong gains on Thursday, after a E.U. pledge to support Greece.

Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.


NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Friday, Feb 12, 2010 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Thursday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
HTGC $10.10 $8.03 (20.5%) 2,550
CML $21.72 $18.00 (17.1%) 23,900


10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $151591875 $107.37 ( 0.7%) | SPY 1,411,923 $107.37 ( 0.7%)
QQQQ $25,228,621 $43.38 ( 0.6%) | QQQQ 581,560 $43.38 ( 0.6%)
GLD $9,406,615 $106.33 ( 0.8%) | MOT 239,075 $6.81 2.3%
RTP $6,451,139 $198.50 ( 3.7%) | SDS 169,812 $37.33 1.4%
SDS $6,338,220 $37.33 1.4% | FAZ 111,477 $20.95 1.8%
IWM $5,008,349 $60.17 ( 0.7%) | BAC 110,206 $14.53 ( 0.6%)
AAPL $4,123,552 $197.90 ( 0.4%) | SKIL 110,109 $11.06 13.6%
SWM $3,564,699 $50.20 7.4% | C 109,273 $3.18 ( 0.9%)
IR $3,474,979 $31.52 ( 7.3%) | IR 108,653 $31.52 ( 7.3%)
BIDU $3,215,034 $484.32 ( 0.6%) | RNN 104,958 $1.04 10.7%


Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

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Indications: Stock futures fall after China hikes reserve ratio

Stock Assault 2.0 - Artificial Intelligence Stock Market Software Alert Email Print

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures fell on Friday after China hiked its deposit-reserve ratio, escalating worries over global economic growth and prompting traders to sell stocks and commodities, and buy the U.S. dollar.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 67 points, or 0.7%, to 10,043.

S&P 500 futures fell 9 points, or 0.8%, to 1,067.60, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 15.75 points, or 0.9%, to 1,759.70.

U.S. equities finished with strong gains on Thursday, after concerns about Greece's fiscal situation eased.

TODAY'S TOP MARKET STORIES

S&P 500 (1 YEAR)

• Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks in focus • Today's biggest advancing, declining stocks • Sign up for free, breaking-news email alerts

Equities by Sector• Technology stocks | Energy stocks • Metals stocks | Retail stocks • Financials | Airline stocks | Pharma and Biotech

More on Markets • Bond Report | Oil News | EarningsWatch • Currencies | Market Data | Economic Calendar • See all the latest markets video

/conga/story/misc/markets.html 55637

The People's Bank of China announced Friday it will raise the ratio of reserves banks must set aside by 0.5 percentage points, marking the second such action this year.

The central bank has been tightening monetary policy in an attempt to restrain bank lending. Its moves, however, have raised worries over a potential slowdown in China's economic growth.

"The PBOC move risks eroding any stabilization emerging in global equities" following the European Union's pledge on Thursday to support Greece, said Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

The news from China sent the U.S. dollar sharply higher, while it also prompted traders to sell stocks and commodities such as oil and gold.

Oil futures fell nearly 2% to $73.84 a barrel, while gold futures dropped $15.70 to $1,079 an ounce. The concern is that slowing growth in China will lead to a decline in its appetite for commodities.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 80.63, +0.63, +0.79%) , which tracks the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.7% to 80.583.

The euro declined 1% to $1.3553, adding to its losses. It had declined earlier after data showed that Germany's economic recovery stagnated in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The euro zone grew at a paltry 0.1% during the fourth quarter, as France's 0.6% expansion offset contractions in Italy and Spain and a stagnant performance in Germany. Economists had forecast 0.3% growth.

In the U.S., data on retail sales for January is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time followed by inventories for December and consumer sentiment for February at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will also release delayed data on petroleum and natural-gas inventories.

Quarterly results from Duke Energy Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!duk/quotes/nls/duk (DUK 16.21, -0.01, -0.06%) and Ingersoll-Rand Plc /quotes/comstock/13*!ir/quotes/nls/ir (IR 33.98, +0.59, +1.77%) will be released before the opening bell.

Motorola Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!mot/quotes/nls/mot (MOT 6.65, +0.02, +0.30%) will likely be in focus after it said late Thursday that it plans to split itself up into two separate companies.

In Europe, German steel maker ThyssenKrupp AG /quotes/comstock/11e!ftka (DE:TKA 22.99, +0.42, +1.84%) reported a 2% drop in fiscal first-quarter profit, but its result beat market expectations.

Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt.


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