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.
Monday's sharp selloff on Wall Street doesn't show signs of carrying into today, with U.S. and Canadian stock futures up about 0.2 per cent ahead of the opening bell. But trading today could still be volatile given persistent fears that valuations have become stretched.
The U.S. retail sales report for December was modestly stronger than expected, keeping intact the general trend of an improving American economy. Some of the big U.S. banks are reporting earnings today, and they generally impressed the Street.
Upcoming will be more commentary arriving later today from Federal Reserve officials: Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher are scheduled to speak on the economy early this afternoon. Both tend to be hawkish economists, and their words will be monitored closely after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart contributed to the worst slide in U.S. benchmark indexes on Monday in months by suggesting the central bank should push ahead with winding down monetary stimulus.
Overnight, Japan's Nikkei index suffered a harsh decline, plunging 3.1 per cent as the Japanese yen spiked in strength - a negative for the country's export sector. The Japanese stock market was closed Monday for a holiday, so some of the decline was likely a reaction to Friday's weak U.S. jobs report and Wall Street's misery as this week got under way.
Here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
Futures: S&P 500 +0.20 per cent; Dow +0.17 per cent; Nasdaq +0.22 per cent; S&P Toronto +0.22 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.43 per cent
Shanghai composite index +0.87 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -3.08 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.22 per cent
Germany's DAX -0.54 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.43 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Mar) +0.17 per cent at $92.16 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Feb) -0.27 per cent at $1,247.70 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) -0.22 per cent at $3.34 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 91.78 (U.S.), vs. 92.20 at Monday's North American close.
U.S. dollar index up 0.04 at 80.55
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.86 per cent, up 0.03
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
U.S. retail sales rose 0.2 per cent in December, a bit stronger than the flat reading expected by economists. Excluding autos, December retail sales were up a solid 0.7 per cent. Retail spending figures for prior months were revised down to a 0.5 per cent increase in October and a 0.4 per cent rise in November.
(9 a.m. ET) Teranet/National Bank Canadian home price index for December.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
JPMorgan reported adjusted per-share earnings of $1.40 as revenue dropped 1.1 per cent to $24.11-billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of $1.35 on revenue of $23.67 billion. Shares are flat so far in the premarket.
Wells Fargo reported per-share earnings rose to $1 versus 91 cents a year earlier. Revenue declined 5.8 per cent to $20.67-billion. Analysts expected per-share earnings of 98 cents on revenue of $20.69 billion. Shares are down 0.5 per cent in the premarket.
Shaw Communications reported fiscal first-quarter earnings per share of 51 cents, beating the Street view of 49 cents. Revenues of $1.36-billion matched the Street consensus.
Chorus Entertainment reported quarterly earnings of 65 cents (Canadian) versus the Street estimate of 62 cents.
Cogeco Cable late Monday reported that net profit rose to $1.02 (Canadian) per share in its first quarter, matching the Street estimate.
Other earnings today include: Avalon Rare Metals; Bauer Performance; Neptune Technologies; H.B. Fuller; Linear Tech; and M&T Bank.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
BMO Nesbitt Burns cut its price target on Lululemon to $50 (U.S.) from $59 and reiterated a "market perform" rating.
JPMorgan upgraded Intel to "overweight" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $29 (U.S.) from $20.
Wells Fargo upgraded Google to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $1,300-$1,350 from $900-$1,000.
Citigroup downgraded Microsoft to "neutral" from "buy" with a price target of $35 (U.S.).
Barclays downgraded Family Dollar Stores to "underweight" from "equalweight" and cut its price target to $54 (U.S.) from $67.
Barclays downgraded Sirius XM Radio to "equalweight" from "overweight" and cut its price target to $4 (U.S.) from $4.50.
FBR Capital upgraded Southern Copper to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $35 (U.S.) from $30.
BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded U.S. Steel to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $37 (U.S.) from $19.
CIBC World Markets downgraded Legacy Oil + Gas to "sector performer" and cut its price target to $7.50 (Canadian) from $9.
CIBC upgraded Fortuna Silver Mines to "sector outperformer" from "sector performer" and raised its target to $5 (Canadian) from $4.
CIBC downgraded Cequence Energy to "sector underperformer" from "sector performer" and cut its target to $2 (Canadian) from $2.10.
CIBC upgraded Birchcliff Energy to "sector outperformer" and raised its price target to $10.25 (Canadian) from $9.75.
CIBC downgraded Strategic Oil & Gas to "sector underperformer" from "sector performer" and cut its price target to 95 cents from $1.10.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:
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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