TradeTheNews.com US Market Update: Markets Drift Higher on Spain Bailout Rumors
DJIA +16 S&P500 -2 NASDAQ -10
***Economic Data***
- (IN) India Forex Reserves w/e Jun 2nd: $ v $288.3B prior
- (CL) Chile May CPI M/M: 0.0% v 0.2%e; Y/Y: 3.1% v 3.3%e; CPI Ex Perishables & Fuel M/M: 0.3% v 0.3%e
- (CA) Canada May Housing Starts: 211.4K v 215.0Ke
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(US) Apr Trade Balance: -$50.1B v -$49.5Be
- (CA) Canada May Net Change in Employment: +7.7K v +5.0Ke; Unemployment Rate: 7.3% v 7.3%e; Full Time Employment Change: +1.4K v +43.9K prior; Part Time Employment Change: +6.3K v +14.3K prior; Participation Rate: 66.8% v 66.8% prior
- (CA) Canada Q1 Labor Productivity Q/Q: 0.1% v 0.3%e
- (CA) Canada Apr Int'l Merchandise Trade:- C$370M v +C$180Me
- (MX) Mexico Mar Gross Fixed Investment: % v 7.2%e
- (US) Apr Wholesale Inventories: 0.6% v 0.4%e
- (MX) Mexico Central Bank leaves the Overnight Rate unchanged at 4.50%; as expected
- (UK) DMO sold total £5.0B in 1-month, 3-month and 6-month Bills
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US equities are perking up after a slow start this morning, shrugging off weight from Asia and Europe to trade at session highs mid morning. Note however that volumes are very light. Jitters about tomorrow's raft of Chinese data from the month of May and disappointment with Fed Chairman Bernanke dragged down Asian and European equities overnight.
Coming into the US session there were reports that European officials would hold a conference call tomorrow to discuss Spain, prompting rumors that the long-anticipated bailout was at hand.
Officials in Madrid confirmed that the call would take place and would discuss the situation in Spain, however they also reiterated that no formal request for a bailout could be made until late June, after the receipt of reports from ongoing audits of the Spanish financial system. Mid morning President Obama held a brief press conference to discuss the economy and defend his handling of job growth. He also took the opportunity to press European leaders, noting that there were specific actions Europe could take "right now" to stabilize the crisis.
Press reports are circulating that administration officials are pushing EU leaders to launch a EuroTARP program for the continent's banks. In economic data, the US trade deficit narrowed in April on slowing global demand, with both imports and exports dropping from record high levels set in March. The USD and JPY are pretty firm in the US session so far.
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Chesapeake Energy is in focus this morning as the troubled company meets for its annual shareholder meeting. With CEO McClendon under tight scrutiny for alleged conflicts of interest and other improprieties, investors are in an ugly mood. At least two directors are said to be under threat of being ousted. Ahead of the meeting, Chesapeake confirmed that it would sell a batch of midstream assets in three transactions valued up to $4.0B, putting it about halfway through its ongoing divestment process. Shares of CHK are flat on the day. In other energy sector news, Alpha Natural Resources said it would cut production at its Kentucky mines, in line with earlier announcements. Shares of ANR are down 3%.
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After yesterday's 30% decline, Molina Healthcare is up more than 20% this morning. Molina said last night that it had managed to preserve its Medicaid managed care provider status in Ohio. Navistar is also bouncing back after yesterday's big losses, with NAV up nearly 8% in the early going. ADRs of Nokia are up nearly 5% on recirculating takeover chatter: today's rumor says Samsung is interested in buying the firm, after word went around yesterday that Microsoft was interested. Small-cap name Progress Software is down nearly 12% after offering preliminary guidance for Q2 that was well below expectations. In its mid-quarter update, semi name Altera reaffirmed its Q2 guidance; shares of ALTR are flat on the day.
***Looking Ahead***
- 11:00 (US) Fed to buy $1.50-2.25B in bonds
- 12:00 (EU) Former ECB chief Trichet
- 15:00 (AR) Argentina Q1 Quarterly GDP: 4.8%e v 7.3% prior
- 17:00 (CO) Colombia May Producer Price Index M/M: No est v 0.2% prior; Y/Y: No est v 1.6% prior
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21:30 (CN) China May Consumer Price Index Y/Y: 3.2%e v 3.4% prior
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21:30 (CN) China May Producer Price Index Y/Y: -1.1%e v -0.7% prior
***Saturday***
- (RU) Russia Apr Trade Balance: $20.0Be v $19.4B prior; Exports: $47.5Be v $48.0B prior; Imports: $27.0Be v $28.5B prior
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1:30 (CN) China May Industrial Production Y/Y: 9.8% ev 9.3% prior; IP YTD Y/Y: 10.8%e v 11.0% prior
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1:30 (CN) China May Fixed Urban Assets Y/Y: 20.0%e v 20.2% prior
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1:30 (CN) China May Retail Sales Y/Y: 14.2%e v 14.1% prior; YTD Y/Y: 14.6%e v 14.7% prior
***Sunday***
- (FR) France to hold legislative election (1st Round)
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