Despite yesterday's concerns over
China's wider-than-expected trade gap
, the bulls eventually emerged, with the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) managing to
eke out minor gains
. Buyers are standing pat this morning, with traders optimistically
anticipating domestic economic data -- in the form of retail sales
and the latest policy decision from the Federal Open Market
Committee (FOMC). Economists are predicting retail sales to rise by
1.2%, with no major announcements expected from the Fed. Against
this backdrop, futures on all three major market indexes are
pointed north of breakeven.
In equities news, Yahoo Inc. (YHOO - 14.49) late Monday said
that it is suing Facebook Inc. for infringement of 10 patents
relating to YHOO's advertising, privacy, and social networking
technology. The lawsuit comes amid Facebook's preparations for its
initial public offering (IPO), slated for later this year. YHOO is
on pace to begin the day with a 0.4% gain.
In earnings news, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE - 20.55)
swallowed a fourth-quarter loss of $20.9 million, or 29 cents per
share, versus last year's profit of $13.8 million, or 18 cents per
share. Excluding items, the loss narrowed to 21 cents per share,
while revenue rose a slight 4% to $86.2 million. The results were
mixed, with analysts calling for a slimmer adjusted loss of 14
cents per share on $73.5 million in sales. CLNE is set to drop 0.8%
right out of the gate.
Urban Outfitters (URBN - 29.51) reported a fourth-quarter profit
of $39.3 million, or 27 cents per share, down 48% from $75.2
million, or 45 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The
retailer attributed the decline to deep discounts on its
merchandise during the quarter -- which helped to reduce inventory,
but negatively impacted margins. Meanwhile, net revenue rose by
9.3% to $730.6 million, despite a 1% drop in same-store sales. The
results disappointed analysts, who were expecting a profit of 29
cents per share on revenue of $740 million. URBN is 5.6% lower in
pre-market trading.
Finally, Majesco Entertainment (COOL - 2.97) said its fiscal
first-quarter earnings improved 14% to $7.7 million, or 19 cents
per share, while revenue rose 37% to $66.2 million. On an adjusted
basis, COOL earned 18 cents per share. Analysts, on average, were
looking for the video game publisher to earn 20 cents per share on
$54.9 million in revenue. For the full year, COOL expects to bank
an adjusted profit of 25 to 35 cents per share, with revenue
ranging between $130 million and $140 million. By contrast, Wall
Street is anticipating fiscal 2012 earnings of 35 cents per share
on $136.5 million in revenue. COOL has swallowed a loss of 12.5%
ahead of the bell.
Earnings Preview
Today's earnings docket will also feature reports from Broadwind
Energy (
BWEN
), Ebix (
EBIX
), Anacor Pharmaceuticals (
ANAC
), Francesca's (
FRAN
), Infinity Pharmaceuticals (
INFI
), Medifast (MED), Oxigene (OXGN), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN), Penson
Worldwide (PNSN), and Xerium Technologies (XRM). Keep your browser
at
SchaeffersResearch.com
for more news as it breaks.
Economic Calendar
Today's economic calendar features the latest data on retail
sales and business inventories, but the day's major news will
likely be the FOMC's policy decision, due out at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.
On Wednesday, the MBA mortgage index will hit the Street, along
with import and export prices, and the regularly scheduled crude
inventories report. Thursday's round-up will include weekly jobless
claims, the Empire State manufacturing index, the Philadelphia
Fed's manufacturing index, and the producer price index (PPI). The
week wraps up on Friday with the consumer price index (CPI),
industrial production and capacity utilization, and the Thomson
Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for
mid-March.
Market Statistics
Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange
(CBOE) saw 851,296 call contracts traded on Monday, compared to
598,695 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio
arrived at 0.70, while the 21-day moving average was 0.65.
Overseas Trading
Stocks in Asia ended on a positive note, with traders looking
ahead to today's meeting of the FOMC. However, the gains in Tokyo
were relatively muted, as the Bank of Japan opted to stand pat on
monetary policy after its latest two-day meeting. This news
prompted a rebound in the yen, which weighed on exporters. By the
close, Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.09%, China's Shanghai Composite
added 0.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1%, and South Korea's
Kospi climbed 1.1%.
The major European benchmarks are solidly higher at midday,
thanks to upbeat economic data from Germany. The country's ZEW
sentiment index surged to a stronger-than-forecast 22.3 in March,
touching its highest point in nearly two years. Plus, euro-zone
finance ministers have now approved a second tranche of bailout aid
for Greece, relieving some debt-related anxiety. At last look, the
French CAC 40 and German DAX have advanced roughly 1% apiece, and
London's FTSE 100 is 0.8% higher.
Currencies and Commodities
The greenback
continues to flex its muscle
, with the U.S. dollar index up 0.2% at last check to trade at
$80.03. Crude oil is headed north, as well, with the front-month
contract 0.4% higher at $107.30 per barrel. Conversely, gold
futures are pointed lower, with the malleable metal down 0.3% at
$1,695.40 an ounce.
Unusual Put and Call Activity:
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Education Center
topics on
Option Volume
and
Open Interest Configurations
.
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