The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the premarket to reflect the latest news developments and market moves. Check back later for updates.
A heavy slate of U.S. earnings reports should make for an active day of trading today, and the backdrop ahead of the opening bell isn't inspiring, with North American stock futures sliding ever further into the red. Dow futures are off by more than 1.5 per cent, weighed down by a 7 per cent premarket drop in shares of Microsoft, which is a component of the index. Meanwhile, a much-weaker-than-expected reading on December U.S. durable goods orders has added further pressure on global markets counting on robust growth in the American economy.
European markets are suffering accelerating losses as well, with the Stoxx 600 index down nearly 1 per cent, threatening to snap an eight-day winning streak that was largely tied to the aggressive monetary stimulus measures by the European Central Bank last week. Some disappointing earnings reports on that side of the Atlantic, including from engineering powerhouse Siemens AG, are keeping investors cautious - as are simmering worries about Greece's future after an anti-austerity party won the national election on the weekend.
In Asia overnight, Chinese stocks fell nearly 1 per cent after data showed an 8 per cent decline in industrial profits from a year earlier - further evidence that the economy there will be challenged to post any acceleration in growth in 2015. Trading in Japan was much more upbeat, with the Nikkei rising 1.7 per cent with the help of a weakening yen.
A major blizzard is hitting the U.S. Northeast this morning, and many commuters in New York may be staying home. That could thin trading volumes somewhat, but forecasters have significantly reduced their snow expectations for New York, with the financial centre now expected to receive no more than a foot of snow. Forecasts Mondays warned of as much as three feet.
Here's a closer look at how earnings are coming in and much more on what's going on this morning.
MARKETS:
Futures:
S&P 500 -1.15 per cent; Dow -1.62 per cent; Nasdaq -1.41 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.79 per cent
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.41 per cent
Shanghai composite index -0.89 per cent
Japan's Nikkei +1.71 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.90 per cent
Germany's DAX -1.43 per cent
France's CAC 40 -1.59 per cent
Stoxx 600 -0.91 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Mar) +0.44 per cent at $45.34 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex Mar) +3.48 per cent at $2.95
Gold (Comex Apr) +0.32 per cent at $1,284.50 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Mar) -2.14 per cent at $2.49 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 80.17 (U.S.), unch
U.S. dollar index down 0.10 at 94.69
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 1.81 per cent, down 0.01
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
U.S. durable goods orders fell 3.4 per cent in December; expectations were for a 0.3 per cent rise. Excluding the transportation segment, durable goods fell 0.8 per cent versus expectations for a 0.6 per cent rise.
U.S. S&P Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 4.31 per cent in November from a year ago, close to market expectations.
(10 a.m. ET, may be slightly delayed) U.S. new home sales for December. Consensus is for a 2.7 per cent rise to 450,000.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Conference Board consumer confidence index. Consensus is for a reading of 95.0.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Microsoft shares are down 7 per cent in the premarket after late Monday reporting earnings inline with expectations but disappointing investors as its commercial licensing revenue of $10.68-billion (U.S.) came in below forecasts for $10.94-billion.
Metro said its quarterly dividend will be going up 16.7 per cent amid expectations that the grocery company is well-positioned to continue strong growth in the coming quarters. Metro's adjusted earnings were up 21.6 per cent to $1.35 per share, four cents above analyst estimates.
Caterpillar reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $1.35 (U.S.) versus expectations of $1.55. It said it sees slow economic growth hurting its sales this year. It posted revenue of $14.24-billion in the period, beating Street forecasts for $14.18-billion. Shares are down 5 per cent in the premarket.
Pfizer reported adjusted Q4 EPS of 54 cents (U.S.) versus expectations of 53 cents. But the company forecast 2015 earnings below Wall Street expectations, citing patent expirations and the stronger dollar.
Procter & Gamble reported core EPS of $1.06 (U.S.) versus expectations of $1.13.
Corning reported Q4 core EPS of 45 cents (U.S.) versus expectations of 38 cents.
Bristol-Myers Squibb reported Q4 EPS of 46 cents (U.S.) versus expectations of 40 cents.
3M reported Q4 profit of $1.81 a share, beating Street estimates of $1.79.
American Airlines Group reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.52 a share, beating expectations for $1.50.
Freeport-McMoRan reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 25 cents (U.S.) versus expectations of 35 cents. Shares are down 5 per cent in the premarket.
Other earnings expected from: AlarmForce, Canadian National Railway; Open Text, AK Steel Holdings, Apple, Amgen, Applied Micro Circuits, AT&T, , E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Electronic Arts, Gilead Sciences, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, Novartis, Nucor, United Bankshares, Yahoo!
ANALYST ACTIONS:
A least four analysts downgraded their ratings on Microsoft following the company's quarterly results late Monday, including Citibank downgrading the stock to "sell" from "neutral." JPMorgan lowered its rating to "neutral" from "overweight" and cut its price target to $47 (U.S.) from $53.
Raymond James downgraded Leisureworld Senior Care to "market perform" from "outperform" and removed its $15 (Canadian) price target.
----
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