Written by Gary
The NYSE just decided to have a “technical glitch”, which has pushed S&P500 futures to their overnight highs, again testing the upper resistance. Crude appears to be falling off its overnight high of 32.38 and the Shanghai Composite index today dropped 6.4%, extending its fall this year to 22%. Expect US markets to open higher with volatility.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are sharply higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 2.39% while France’s CAC 40 is up 2.28% and Germany’s DAX is up 1.69%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Hugo Boss CEO steps down after weak China, U.S. sales BERLIN (Reuters) – Hugo Boss ‹ Chief Executive Claus-Dietrich Lahrs is stepping down after eight years at the helm of the German fashion house after the share price tumbled following a profit warning on weak sales in China and the United States. |
| Best Buy forecast misses expectations (Reuters) – Best Buy Co Inc forecast current-quarter sales and profit below analysts’ estimates as the biggest U.S. consumer electronics retailer by store count struggles with falling sales of mobile devices. |
| Foxconn puts Sharp takeover on hold over undisclosed liabilities: sources TAIPEI/TOKYO (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn has put its takeover of Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp on hold after becoming aware of previously undisclosed liabilities, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday. |
| Kohl’s warns of full-year sales decline (Reuters) – U.S. department store operator Kohl’s Corp forecast full-year earnings largely below analysts’ average estimate and warned that sales could fall this year. |
| McDonald’s announces belated foray into Kazakhstan market next month MOSCOW (Reuters) – McDonald’s will open its first restaurant in Kazakhstan in March and another 15 soon afterward in a belated foray into Central Asia’s largest economy, a company executive and its Kazakh licensee said on Thursday. |
| Domino’s Pizza profit rises 31 percent on strong U.S. sales (Reuters) – Domino’s Pizza Inc reported a 31 percent jump in quarterly profit as strong growth in the United States offset the drag from a strong U.S. dollar and expenses related to a recapitalization program that included early retirement of debt. |
| Dynegy, Energy Capital to buy Engie’s U.S. power plants (Reuters) – U.S. electric power company Dynegy Inc said it had partnered with private equity firm Energy Capital Partners to buy French utility Engie SA’s U.S. power plants worth $3.3 billion to expand in regulated power markets. |
| The WSJ’s Modest Proposal: The Bank Of Japan Should Buy OilWe have joked about it in the past: with equities around the globe all correlating tick for tick with the price of oil (supposedly “lower oil is good for the economy”, just don’t tell that to the stock market), instead of doing piecemeal interventions and monetizing stocks, something which as even Citigroup has noted no longer works, what central banks should do instead is monetize the source of all market problems: oil itself. We first joked last January that the ECB should do it…
… that the Fed should do it…
… and that Canada, arguably the one developed nation most impacted by plunging oil, should certainly do it.
Key word, however, in all of the above is “joked.” After all, by now most traders, and even the Davos billionaires, not only admit, but agree they have all had enough with central bank … |
| Foxconn Ices Sharp Deal After Seeing How Bad The Books AreFor a minute, Sharp was saved. The 100-year-old maker of LCD screens was once a consumer electronics powerhouse but has stumbled in the face of fierce price competition and ill-advised investments in advanced production plants. Earlier this month, Sharp reported a net loss of $208 million for for its fiscal Q3, bringing the nine month loss to nearly a billion as the company continues to lose market share to Samsung, LG, and other Asian competitors. Foxconn founder Terry Gou sees Sharp’s dire straits as an opportunity for Hon Hai Precision to solidify its position and pricing power with Apple, which is seen adopting OLED screens for iPhones by 2018. Sharp hopes to become a global OLED supplier. œThe OLED sector is virtually a monopoly right now, Lisa Li, vice president of Sigma Intell says, referencing Samsung’s iron grip on the space. œThis must be something Apple is pretty concerned about. œAn iPhone’s most expensive component is its touch screen display, making up more than 20% of manufacturing costs, which is why Mr. Gou is eager to supply them, WSJ writes. œSharp is one of three suppliers of iPhone screens. “It’s widely understood that Hon Hai wants to consolidate Sharp in order to secure its dominant position in Apple’s supply chain; the combined group could provide EMS services as well as displays, touch panels, camera modules, metal casings, FPCBs and connectors,” BNP remarked, in a note out last week. Gou has had his eyes on Sharp since 2012, when a deal for Foxconn to take a 10% stake fell apart due in part to Sharp’s abysmal operating performance. Foxconn’s latest overtu … |
| Frontrunning: February 25Europe shrugs off pre-G20 China stocks slump, sterling steadies (Reuters) China Unveils Its Deliverables for G-20 — And No Plaza Pact (BBG) Foreign Money Could Be Slow to Enter China’s Bond Markets (WSJ) China Urged to Stomach Much Higher Fiscal Deficit (WSJ) Trump’s Momentum Has Republicans in Congress Confused and Cowed (BBG) Obama weighs Republican for Supreme Court (Reuters) Apple to boost customers’ iCloud encryption (FT) Sears Posts $580 Million Fourth-Quarter Loss as Retailer Shrinks (BBG) This Obscure Fed Funds Metric Might Explain Market Tumult (BBG) Trump rides momentum into winner-take-all states (Hill) China’s Shadow Banking Evolves to Dodge Crackdown (BBG |
| And Now The NYSE Also Breaks, S&P Futures JumpIt’s just getting ridiculous: moments after the Euronext exchange broke down unexpected duo the “technical difficulties” shutting down “part of the market”, and spiking the Stoxx600 in the process, moments ago the NYSE itself decided to have a “technical glitch”, one which coming alongside James “QE4” Bullard’s CNBC interview has pushed S&P500 futures to their overnight highs. From the NYSE
If and when the CME breaks next, we expect everything to lock limit up as only the upward momentum-levitating algos will be allowed to frontrun each other. |
| U.S. Warns Banks Off Russian BondsThe U.S. government has warned some top U.S. banks not to bid on a potentially lucrative but politically risky Russian bond deal, saying it would undermine international sanctions on Moscow. |
| Global Stocks Mostly Gain Despite China PlungeGlobal stock markets are mostly higher despite a plunge in China, as a late turnaround on Wall Street helped rekindle investors’ appetite for risk. Gains in Europe are led by the energy sector |
| The Big New Threat to Oil Prices: A Glut of GasolineRefineries in the U.S. Midwest are losing their thirst for oil as gasoline piles up in the market, posing a new risk for the battered oil market. |
| Pay women more if you want to reduce povertyThere’s one problem: Taking that step isn’t all that simple. |
| Economic Report: Jobless claims climb 10,000 to 272,000The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 10,000 to 272,000, but remained nearly a postrecession low. |
| Economic Report: Durable-goods orders surge 4.9% in JanuaryU.S. orders for long-lasting or durable goods jumped 4.9% in January to mark the biggest gain in 10 months, but underlying business investment remained soft. |
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