6 not 5 NASDAQ 100 Stars

Today I used Barchart to sort the NASDAQ 100 Index to find the stocks with the most new highs in the last month.  The list was surprisingly weak so I sorted further for the stocks that also had positive gains for both the last 5 and 30 days.  The list includes Apple (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Facebook (FB), Rangold Resources (GOLD), Celgene (CELG) and for extra measure Garmin (GRMN):

Apple (APPL)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 11 new highs and up 18.22% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 73.17%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 497.62
• Recently traded at 502.36 with a 50 day moving average of 441.03

Dell (DELL)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 64% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 11 new highs and up 4.95% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 64.08%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 13.76
• Recently traded at 13.79 with a 50 day moving average of 13.35

Facebook (FB)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 88% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 9 new highs and up 48.07% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 71.31%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 37.74
• Recently traded at 38.32 with a 50 day moving average of 29.95

Rangold Resources (GOLD)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 64% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 8 new highs and up 10.14% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 57.72%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 75.86
• Recently traded at 77.46 with a 50 day moving average of 69.94

Celgene (CELG)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 16% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter hold
• Above its 50 and 20 day moving average but below its 20 day moving average
• Up for the last 5 days but even for the month
• Relative Strength Index 51.71
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 132.33
• Recently traded at 137.57 with a 50 day moving average of 130.96

Garmin (GRMN)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 5 new highs and up 9.75% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 65.82%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 37.56
• Recently traded at 40.28 with a 50 day moving average of 36.87

Barchart Morning Call 8/16

Barchart Morning Call

BC - Fri Aug 16, 6:45AM CDT

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

September E-mini S&Ps (ESU13 +0.32%) this morning are up +0.24% and European stocks are up +0.08%. Asian stocks closed mostly lower: Japan -0.75%, Hong Kong -0.10%, China -0.75%, Taiwan +0.48%, Australia -0.75%, Singapore -0.73%, South Korea -0.24%, India -3.97%. China's Shanghai Stock Index closed down -0.75% after being up +5.6% when a trading error at Everbright Securities spurred a 53% surge in trading volumes. India's Sensex Stock Index sank -3.97%, its biggest plunge since Sep 2011, as Indian banking stocks tumbled on concern that measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to bolster the rupee are failing. The rupee dropped to a record 62.005 per dollar today and has slumped -4.4% in the past 3-weeks even after the RBI tightened the cash supply, restricted currency derivatives and curbed gold imports. Commodity prices are mixed. Sep crude oil (CLU13 +0.20%) is up +0.05% and Sep gasoline (RBU13 +0.29%) is up +0.04%. Dec gold (GCZ13 +0.22%) is up +0.05% at a 1-3/4 month high, and Sep copper (HGU13 +0.67%) is up +0.85%. Agricultural and livestock prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.08%) is up +0.06%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.07% and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.06%. September T-note prices (ZNU13 -0.21%) are down -4 ticks.
The Eurozone Jun trade surplus widened to 14.9 billion euros from a 13.8 billion euro surplus in May. June exports rose a seasonally adjusted +3.0% m/m, their first increase in 3-months, from a -2.6% m/m decline in May. June imports rose +2.5% m/m after a -2.1% decline in May.
The July Eurozone CPI fell -0.5% m/m, right on expectations and the biggest decline in 6-months. The Eurozone CPI was left unrevised at +1.6% y/y and the July core CPI was also left unrevised at the originally reported +1.1% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s early-Aug U.S. consumer confidence index from the University of Michigan is expected to show a +0.1 point increase to 85.2, adding to the +1.0 point increase to 85.1 seen in July.  Today’s July housing starts report is expected to show an increase of +7.7% to 900,000, reversing some of the sharp -9.9% decline to 836,000 seen in June.  Today’s Q2 non-farm productivity report is expected to improve to +0.6% from +0.5% in Q1.  None of the Russell 1000 companies report earnings today.  There are no equity conferences today.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Linear Technology (LLTC -1.31%) was upgraded to "Overweight" from "Equal Weight" at Morgan Stanley who also raised its price target on the stock to $48 from $40.
Xilinx (XLNX -2.33%) was upgraded to "Overweight" from "Equal Weight" at Morgan Stanley who also raised its price target on the stock to $40 from $38.
Pandora (P -3.50%) was upgraded to "Buy" from "Neutral" with a price target of $27 at Goldman.
Anadarko (APC +0.25%) was upgraded to "Strong Buy" from "Buy" at ISI Group.
Alcoa (AA unch) was downgraded to "Underperform" from "Neutral" at BofA/Merrill.
General Mills (GIS -2.88%) was downgraded to "Underperform" from "Hold" at Jefferies.
STMicroelectronics (STM -1.52%) was downgraded to "Underweight" from "Neutral" at HSBC.
JoS. A. Bank (JOSB -1.76%) fell 5% in after-hours trading after it lowered its Q2 EPS estimate to 49 cents-53 cents, well below consensus of 68 cents.
Gabelli reports 5.09% stake in Lennar (LEN +5.12%) .
Nordstrom (JWN -0.35%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 93 cents, stronger than consensus of 88 cents, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2013 EPS view to $3.60-$3.70 from $3.65-$3.80, lower than consensus of $3.78.
Applied Materials (AMAT -2.61%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 18 cents, weaker than consensus of 19 cents.
Dell (DELL -0.15%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 25 cents, better than consensus of 24 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU13 +0.32%) this morning are up +4.00 points (+0.24%). The S&P 500 index on Thursday tumbled to a 1-month low and closed lower on concern that stronger-than-expected Eurozone and U.S. economic data will prompt the Fed to taper QE3 soon. U.S. weekly jobless claims fell -15,000 to a 5-3/4 year low of 320,000, while the Aug NAHB housing market index rose +3 to a 7-3/4 year high of 59. Other bearish factors included a slide in technology stocks after bellwether Cisco said its fiscal Q1 revenue will be lower than consensus, and after retail stocks fell when Wal-Mart cut its full-year EPS forecast. Closes: S&P 500 -1.43%, Dow Jones -1.47%, Nasdaq 100 -1.70%.
Sep 10-year T-notes (ZNU13 -0.21%) this morning are down -4 ticks. Sep 10-year T-note prices on Thursday fell to a 5-week low and the 10-year T-note yield surged to a 2-year high of 2.82% after U.S. weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level in 5-3/4 years and after the Aug NAHB housing market index climbed to its best level in 7-3/4 years. T-note prices rose from their worst levels after July industrial production was unchanged (weaker-than-expectations of +0.3%) and after the Aug Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index fell more than expected. Closes: TYU3 -9.0, FVU3 -7.25.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.08%) this morning is up +0.052 (+0.06%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0010 (-0.07%) and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.06 (+0.06%). The dollar index on Thursday posted a 1-week high after initial unemployment claims fell to a 5-3/4 year low, but gave up its advance and closed lower after July industrial production unexpectedly stagnated. Closes: Dollar index -0.547 (-0.67%), EUR/USD +0.00917 (+0.69%), USD/JPY -0.771 (-0.79%).
Sep WTI crude oil (CLU13 +0.20%) this morning is up +5 cents (+0.05%) and Sep gasoline (RBU13 +0.29%) is up +0.0011 (+0.04%). Sep crude oil and gasoline prices on Thursday climbed to 2-week highs and settled higher on concern that the civil unrest in Egypt will escalate and threaten the supplies of Middle East crude oil through the Suez Canal. Other bullish factors included (1) the weaker dollar and (2) the decline in U.S. weekly jobless claims to a 5-3/4 year low. Closes: CLU3 +0.48 (+0.45%), RBU3 +0.0015 (+0.05%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR08/16/2013

US	0830 ET	Q2 non-farm productivity expected +0.6%, Q1 +0.5%. Q2 unit labor costs expected +1.2%, Q1 -4.3%.
	0830 ET	July housing starts expected +7.7% to 900,000, Jun -9.9% to 836,000. July building permits expected +2.9% to 945,000, Jun -6.8% to 918,000.
	0955 ET	Preliminary U.S. Aug University of Michigan consumer confidence expected +0.1 to 85.2, July +1.0 to 85.1.
EUR	0500 ET	Revised Eurozone July CPI, previous +0.1% m/m and +1.6% y/y. Revised July core CPI, previous +1.1% y/y.
	0500 ET	Eurozone Jun trade balance (sa), May +14.6 billion euros.
CHI	2130 ET	China July property prices.
UK	1901 ET	UK Aug Rightmove house prices, July +0.3% m/m and +4.8% y/y.
JPN	1950 ET	Japan July trade balance expected -803.0 billion yen, Jun -182.3 billion yen. July exports expected +15.4% y/y, Jun +7.4% y/y. July imports expected +18.9% y/y, Jun +11.8% y/y.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR08/16/2013

Company Name	Symbol	Time	Event Description	Period	EPS Est (US$)
Microchip Technology Inc	MCHP US	12:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2013

Barchart Morning Call 3/25

Barchart Morning Call

Monday, March 25th, 2013View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM13 +0.42%) are moderately higher by +0.43% on the Cyprus bailout agreement that was reached last night. The Euro Stoxx 50 index this morning is sharply higher by +1.64%. Asian stocks today closed mostly higher on the Cyprus bailout. The Nikkei index closed +1.69% and the Hang Seng closed +0.61% but China's CSI 300 index closed -0.20%. Commodity prices are little changed on average this morning. May crude oil (CLK13 +0.49%) is up +0.55%, May gasoline (RBK13 +0.53%) is up +0.31%, April gold (GCJ13 -0.47%) is down -0.29%, May copper (HGK13 -0.10%) is down -0.09%, grains are lower, and softs are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.01%) is slightly lower by -0.05% this morning while EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.08%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.31%. June 10-year T-notes (ZNM13 -0.25%) are down -10 ticks.
Cyprus and troika officials reached a bailout deal late last night that will give Cyprus its 10 billion euro bailout and avert a Cyprus banking system meltdown, sovereign default, and possible exit from the Eurozone. The deal will close Cyprus's second largest bank (Cyprus Popular Pcl) and will put heavy losses on large uninsured depositors, but will protect smaller depositors under the 100,000 euro deposit insurance limit. The Bank of Cyprus, the largest bank in Cyprus, will survive but uninsured depositors will lose up to 40% of their holdings. The Cyprus parliament does not need to vote on last night's deal since it already passed the necessary capital controls and the law to wind down Cyprus's second largest bank last Friday. However, parliamentary votes are necessary in some Eurozone countries to approve the loans being made from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
Cyprus banks and stock market were closed today for a national holiday. There has been no definitive word as yet when they will reopen. The ECB will now keep liquidity flowing to the Cyprus central bank and indirectly to the Cyprus banking system, thus allowing Cyprus banks to survive bank runs when they reopen.
Spanish and Italian bond prices have rallied on relief about the Cyprus deal. The Spanish 10-year bond yield this morning is down -3 bp at 4.81% and the Italian 10-year bond yield is down -7 bp at 4.44%.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

The markets this week will first react to Sunday night's Cyprus bailout. This is a busy news week ahead of Friday's Good Friday holiday. There are a slew of U.S. economic reports and the Treasury will sell $99 billion in T-notes. This is a light earnings week with only 9 of the S&P 500 companies reporting earnings. Monday: Apollo Group (consensus of $0.19) and Dollar General (0.90). Tuesday: SAIC (0.52). Wednesday: PVH (1.50), Red Hat (0.30), Paychex (0.39). Thursday: Mosaic (0.88), Accenture (0.97), Gamestop (2.09).
Conferences this week are light with the Good Friday holiday: Canada's Energy Technology Blueprint Summit on Tuesday, Photon's 10th Solar Silicon Conference on Tuesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch New York Auto Summit on Wednesday, CIBC Retail & Consumer Conference on Thursday, and Photon's 8th Solar Electric Utility Conference on Thursday.

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM13 +0.42%) this morning are up +6.75 points (+0.43%) on the Cyprus bailout agreement that was reached last night, along with the sharp 1.64% rally in the Euro Stoxx 50 index today. The S&P 500 index on Friday settled higher. Stocks were boosted by carry-over support from strength in European equities on optimism that Cyprus would reach an 11th hour agreement before Monday’s ECB deadline for a cut -off of funding for Cypriot banks. A negative factor was the unexpected -0.7 point drop in the March German Ifo business climate index to 106.7, its first decline in five months. Closes: S&P 500 +0.72%, Dow Jones +0.63%, Nasdaq 100 +0.94%.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

• Dollar General (DG +0.52%) reported Q4 EPS of 97 cents, well above the consensus of 90 cents. The company also announced an additional $500 million share repurchase authorization.
• Dell (DELL) received two acquisition proposals in its "go shop process," one from Blackstone (BX -0.95%) and one from Carl Icahn.
• JA Solar (JASO -0.95%) reported Q4 EPS of a -$2.65 loss, much wider than the expected loss of -$1.53.
• Quicksilver Resources (KWK -8.84%) released a revised Q4 non-GAAP EPS of 5 cents, which had previously been reported as a -1 cent loss.
• Pernod Ricard USA, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard (PDRDY +2.87%) , is voluntarily recalling Absolut TUNE, a mix of wine and vodka, because its label failed to disclose that the product contains sulfites. To date, the company has not received any reports of adverse reactions associated with this product.
• AK Steel (AKS -4.61%) said that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 20 denied ArcelorMittal's (MT -1.17%) petition for re-hearing in its patent infringement lawsuit involving aluminized boron steel.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novartis' (NVS +0.27%) TOBI Podhaler for the management of cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that causes lung infections.
• Caterpillar (CAT +0.75%) was awarded a U.S. government contract with a maximum $633 million for material handling equipment.
• Pilots at Piedmont Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Airways (LCC -0.82%), voted to ratify a new five-year collective bargaining agreement that was reached on Feb. 1.

MARKET COMMENTS

June 10-year T-notes (ZNM13 -0.25%) this morning are down -10 ticks on reduced safe-haven demand with the Cyprus deal. June 10-year T-note prices on Friday fluctuated on either side of unchanged and finally settled slightly higher as the ongoing Cyprus banking crisis fueled safe-haven demand for Treasuries. Closes: TYM3 +3.5, FVM3 +1.5.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.01%) this morning is slightly lower by -0.05%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is slightly higher by +0.0011 (+0.08%) on the Cyprus deal. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.29 yen (+0.31%). The dollar index on Friday closed lower on reduced safe-haven demand as stocks rallied on optimism Cyprus will reach an 11th hour agreement before Monday’s ECB deadline for a cut-off of funding for Cypriot banks. Limiting gains in EUR/USD was the unexpected -0.7 point decline in the March German Ifo business climate index, its first drop in five months. Closes: Dollar index -0.364 (-0.44%), EUR/USD +0.0090 (+0.70%), USD/JPY -0.430 (-0.44%).
May WTI crude (CLK13 +0.49%) oil is up +0.52 (+0.55%) and May gasoline (RBK13 +0.53%) is up +0.0094 (+0.31%) on the prospects for an improved global economy with the Cyprus deal. Crude oil and gasoline prices on Friday settled mixed. The bullish factors of strong stocks and a weak dollar were overshadowed by the Cyprus bailout crisis. Gasoline weakened on speculation that gasoline output will soon increase as spring maintenance by refiners is nearly completed. Closes: CLK3 +1.26 (+1.36%), RBK3 -0.0085 (-0.28%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/25/2013

US	0830 ET	Feb Chicago Fed national activity index, Jan -0.32.
	1030 ET	March Dallas Fed manufacturing activity index expected 3.7, Feb 2.2.
	1215 ET	NY Fed President William Dudley speaks at Economic Club of New York.
	1315 ET	Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard, Professor Lawrence Summers, and former ECB council member Axel Weber take part in a public discussion chaired by BOE Governor Mervyn King at London School of Economics.
	1100 ET	USDA weekly grain export inspections.
JPN	1950 ET	Japan Feb corporate service price index expected 0.0% y/y, Jan -0.2% y/y.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/25/2013

Company Name	Symbol	Time	Event Description	Period	EPS Est (US$)
Apollo Group Inc	APOL US	7:00	Q2 2013 Earnings Release	Q2 2013	0.191
Dollar General Corp	DG US	7:00	Q4 2013 Earnings Release	Q4 2013	0.902
Apollo Group Inc	APOL US	8:00	Q2 2013 Earnings Call	Q2 2013
Dollar General Corp	DG US	10:00	Q4 2013 Earnings Call	Q4 2013
MGM Resorts International	MGM US	12:40	Toronto Region Board of Trade Presents Bill Hornbuckle & Wayne Barwise

Barchart Morning Call 3/11

Barchart Morning Call 

Monday, March 11th, 2013View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM13 -0.18%) this morning are down -0.15% on a -0.67% sell-off in the Euro Stoxx 50 index and generally bearish economic news since last Friday. Negative factors this morning include the late-Friday Italian debt downgrade and weaker-than-expected Chinese industrial production, retail sales, and new yuan loans reports, and Japan's weaker-than-expected Japan Feb machine orders report. The main supportive factor is today's +1.4% m/m increase in German Jan exports. Asian stocks closed mixed today. China's CSI 300 index fell -0.56% on the weak Chinese economic data, while Hong Kong was unchanged and Japan closed +0.53%. Commodity prices this morning are down -0.13%. April crude oil (CLJ13 -0.21%) is down -0.28%, April gasoline (RBJ13 +1.08%) is up +1.55%, April gold (GCJ13 +0.15%) is up +0.01%, May copper (HGK13 -0.54%) is down -0.77%, grain prices are up about +0.4% on average, and softs are trading lower. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.11%) is slightly higher by +0.06%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.07% and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.08%. June 10-year T-notes (ZNM13 +0.10%) are up +3.5 ticks.
Fitch late Friday downgraded Italy's debt rating by one notch to BBB+ from A- with a negative outlook, leaving the rating three notches above junk and one notch above Spain. The downgrade was caused by Italy's political stalemate and the inability of the country to respond to the recession and the Eurozone debt crisis. Italian credit default swap price today rose by 6.5 bp to 264 bp.
China's Feb industrial production eased to +9.9% y/y from +10.0% y/y in Jan and was weaker than market expectations of +10.6% y/y. Chinese retail sales were also weaker than expected. Chinese Feb retail sales eased to +12.3% year-to-date y/y from +14.3% in Jan and were weaker than market expectations of +15.0%.
China's Feb new yuan loans fell to 620 billion yuan from 1.070 trillion yuan in Jan and were weaker than market expectations of 700 billion yuan. China's M2 money supply report of +15.2% y/y was down from Jan's +15.9% but was stronger than market expectations of +14.9% y/y.
Japan's Feb machine orders report of -13.1% m/m was much weaker than market expectations of -1.7% m/m and was down from +2.8% in Jan. On a year-on-year basis, Feb machine orders fell to -9.7% y/y from -3.4% in Jan.
Japan's Feb machine tool orders improved to -21.5% y/y from -26.4% y/y in Jan.
Japan's Feb M2 money supply report of +2.9% y/y was up from +2.7% y/y in Jan and was 0.2 points higher than market expectations of +2.7% y/y.
Germany's Jan trade surplus of 13.7 billion euros was up from a revised 12.1 billion euros in Dec but was slightly below expectations of 13.9 billion euros. Germany's Jan exports were up +1.4% m/m, which was stronger than market expectations of +0.5% m/m and Dec's report of a revised +0.2% m/m. Germany's Jan current account surplus fell to 11.3 billion euros from a revised 20.2 billion euros and was above the market consensus of 10.5 billion euros.
French Jan industrial production fell by -1.2% m/m, which was much weaker than market expectations of -0.2% m/m. France may be back in a recession with the market consensus for French Q1 GDP of -0.1% q/q that would follow the -0.2% q/q decline in Q4.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Market attention this week will focus on the ongoing U.S. fiscal battles with the Senate due to take up the House version of the continuing resolution that must be approved in 2-1/2 weeks to keep the government open past March 27. The Senate is expected to make relatively minor changes and a government shut-down on March 27 appears unlikely. Also on the fiscal front, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is due to release his 2014 budget on Tuesday.
This is a light earnings week with only 9 of the Russell 1000 companies due to report. Today brings reports from Dick’s Sporting Goods (consensus $1.07), Urban Outfitters (0.57), and Molycorp (-0.30).
Conferences this week include the BIO-Europe Spring Partnering Conference on Monday, Edison Electric Institute - International Utility Conference on Mon-Tue, Credit Suisse Global Services Conference on Mon-Wed, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Consumer & Retail Conference on Tue-Wed, World Biofuels Markets 2013 on Tue-Wed, China Healthcare Investment Conference on Tue-Wed, FIA International Derivatives Conference on Tue-Thu, Piper Jaffray Technology Media and Telecommunications Conference on Tue-Wed, Barclays Capital Healthcare Conference on Tue-Thu, UBS Global Consumer Conference on Wed-Thu, and Susquehanna Chemical Conference on Thu.

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM13 -0.18%) are down -2.25 points (-0.15%) this morning on today's -0.67% sell-off in European stocks, the late-Friday Fitch downgrade of Italy, and generally negative Chinese, Japanese and European economic data released since Saturday. The S&P 500 index on Friday closed higher with the Dow at a record high and the S&P 500 at a 5-1/3 year high. Bullish factors included (1) the stronger-than-expected U.S. Feb payroll report and (2) the continued decline in Spanish and Italian bond yields. Closes: S&P 500 +0.45%, Dow Jones +0.47%, Nasdaq +0.17%.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

• Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS +0.48%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.03, below the consensus of $1.06.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ +0.54%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS at -$1.01, worse than the consensus of -92 cents.
• Kraft Foods (KRFT +1.37%) will join the NASDAQ-100 index effective March 18, replacing STARZ (STRZA +2.05%).
• The Icahn proposal could kill the Dell (DELL -0.42%) buyout, boost Dell's value, according to Barron's.
• Live Nation (LYV +1.53%) may have more upside, according to Barron's.
• Genworth Financial (GNW +1.97%) is undervalued, according to Barron's.
• Railroads are profiting from hauling overflow oil production, according to Barron's.
• Itron (ITRI +0.51%) announced a new $50 million share repurchase plan.

MARKET COMMENTS

June 10-year T-notes (ZNM13 +0.10%) are up 3.5 ticks this morning on increased safe-haven demand with the sell-off in U.S. and European stock indexes. June 10-year T-note prices on Friday fell sharply on the stronger-than-expected U.S. payroll report combined with reduced safe-haven demand with the rally in the S&P 500 index to a new 5-1/3 year high and the continued decline in Italian and Spanish bond yields. Closes: TYM3 -16, FVM3 -6.5.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.11%) is slightly higher by +0.05 points (+0.06%) on some increased safe-haven demand. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is slightly lower by -0.0009 (-0.07%) on the Italian downgrade. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.08 (+0.08%). The dollar index on Friday rallied to a new 6-month high on the stronger-than-expected U.S. payroll report, which put the U.S. economy is a stronger light that should attract foreign investment and boost the dollar’s interest rate differentials. Closes: Dollar index +0.62 (+0.75%), EUR/USD -0.0102 (-0.78%), USD/JPY +1.18 (+1.24%).
April WTI crude oil (CLJ13 -0.21%) is mildly lower by -0.26 (-0.28%), while April gasoline (RBJ13 +1.08%) is up +0.0497 (+1.55%). Crude oil and gasoline prices on Friday rallied on hopes for improved fuel demand with last Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. payroll report. Brent crude oil, however, closed lower as capacity came back on line from the damaged North Sea pipeline. Closes: CLJ3 +0.39 (+0.43%), RBJ3 +0.0802 (+2.57%).

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/11/2013

US	1100 ET	USDA weekly grain export inspections.
JPN	0200 ET	Japan Feb machine tool orders, Jan -26.4% y/y.
	1950 ET	Japan Feb domestic CGPI expected +0.3% m/m and -0.1% y/y, Jan +0.4% m/m and -0.2% y/y.
	1950 ET	Japan Jan tertiary industry index expected -0.2% m/m, Dec +1.4% m/m.
	1950 ET	Japan Q1 BSI large all industry, Q4 -5.5. Q1 BSI large manufacturing, Q4 -10.3.
GER	0300 ET	German Jan trade balance expected 13.9 bln euros, Dec +12.0 bln euros. Jan exports expected +0.5% m/m, Dec +0.3% m/m. Jan imports expected +0.7% m/m, Dec -1.5% m/m.
	0300 ET	German Jan current account expected 10.5 bln euros, Dec 17.3 bln euros.
UK	2001 ET	U.K. Feb RICS house price balance expected -1%, Jan -4%.
CHI	2001 ET	China Q2 Manpower survey, Q1 +14%.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/11/2013

Company Name	Symbol	Time	Event Description	Period	EPS Est (US$)
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc	DKS US	7:30	Q4 2013 Earnings Release	Q4 2013	1.065
Akamai Technologies Inc	AKAM US	8:00	Investor Summit	Y 2013
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc	DKS US	10:00	Q4 2013 Earnings Call	Q4 2013
Edwards Lifesciences Corp	EW US	11:00	ACC, PARTNER 1 Cohort A 3 Yr Data
Urban Outfitters Inc	URBN US	16:00	Q4 2013 Earnings Release	Q4 2013	0.573
Urban Outfitters Inc	URBN US	17:00	Q4 2013 Earnings Call	Q4 2013
Yum! Brands Inc	YUM US	Aft-mkt	February 2013 Sales and Revenue Release	2013
Molycorp Inc	MCP US		Q4 2012 Earnings Release	Q4 2012	-0.3

5 Great NASDAQ 100 Stocks

Today I used Barchart to sort the NASDAQ 100 Index stocks to find the 5 with the best Barchart indicators and charts.  Today's list includes Qualcomm (QCOM), Viacom Cl B (VIAB), Autodesk (ADSK), Dell (DELL) and Ebay (EBAY):

Qualcomm (QCOM)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 100% Barchart technical buy signal
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 4 new highs and up 7.19% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 64.43%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 62.76
• Recently traded at 66.36 with  a 50 day moving average of 63.39

Viacom Cl B (VIAB)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 100% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend spotter buy signals
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 11 new highs and up 14.32% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 72.06%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 57.62
• Recently traded at 60.35 with a 50 day moving average of 54.65

Autodesk (ADSK)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend spotter buy signals
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 6 new highs and up 9.36% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 68.71%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 68.04
• Recently traded at 13.30 with a 50 day moving average of 10.99

Dell (DELL)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% Barchart technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signals
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 5 new highs and up 30.97% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 71.02%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 13.07
• Recently trade at 13.30 with a 50 day moving average of 10.99

Ebay (EBAY)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% Barchart technical buy signal
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 5 new highs and up 9.18% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 62.71%
• Barchart computes a technical support level at 54.94
• Recently traded at 55.77 with a 50 day moving average of 52.25

Barchart Morning Call 11/15

Barchart Morning Call

BC - 1 hr 39 mins ago

Overnight Developments

• Dec E-mini S&Ps this morning are mildly higher by +0.15%. European stocks are down -0.27% while Asian stocks are trading lower across the board except for Japan, which is up +1.90%. Commodity prices are slightly lower by -0.15% with Dec crude oil up +0.06%, Dec gasoline +0.57%, Dec gold down -0.53%, Dec copper up +0.19%, and agriculture prices trading mostly lower. The dollar index is slightly higher by +0.10%. EUR/USD is up +0.15% and USD/JPY is sharply higher by +1.11%. Dec 10-year T-note prices are down -4.5 ticks.
• Eurozone Q3 GDP fell -0.1% q/q (-0.4% q/q annualized), which was in line with market expectations but confirmed that the Eurozone economy remains in a recession. Eurozone GDP on a quarter-on-quarter basis has been either flat or negative for the last four consecutive quarters and has been negative for the last two quarters. Today' Q3 GDP was down -0.6% y/y. The market consensus is that the Eurozone will show slight growth of +0.2% in 2013 after a -0.5% decline this year.
• The Eurozone Oct CPI report of +0.2% m/m and +2.5% y/y was in line with market expectations. However, the Eurozone CPI rate of +2.5% remained above the ECB's target of slightly below +2.0%.
• The UK Oct retail sales ex-fuel report of -0.7% m/m and +1.1% y/y was substantially weaker than market expectations of -0.1% m/m and 2.1% y/y. The report indicated continued economic threats in the UK and was bearish for GBP/USD.
• Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chief Shinzo Abe, who is likely to become prime minister since the opposition LDP party is likely to win the upcoming general election, said today that the Bank of Japan should engage in unlimited easing until deflation is defeated. Those comments sparked fresh weakness today in the yen (strength in USD/JPY). Mr. Abe called for the BOJ to cut its benchmark rate to zero or to a negative level.
  Market Comments
  • Dec E-mini S&Ps this morning are slightly higher by +2.00 (+0.15%) as the market stabilizes after yesterday's sharp sell-off. U.S. stocks on Wednesday closed moderately lower on the lack of any progress thus far on the fiscal cliff and a weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales report, but found support from dovish FOMC minutes and positive late-Tuesday Cisco results: S&P 500 -1.39%, Dow Jones -1.45%, Nasdaq -1.17%. U.S. Oct retail sales fell -0.3%, which was slightly weaker than market expectations of -0.2%, while Oct retail sales ex-autos were unchanged and were weaker than market expectations of +0.2%.
  • Dec 10-year T-notes this morning are down 4.5 ticks. Dec 10-year T-note prices closed little changed despite FOMC minutes that suggested more bond buying may be forthcoming in early 2013 after Operation Twist expires: TYZ2 unch, FVZ2 -0.25.
  • The dollar index this morning is slightly higher by +0.08 (+0.10%). EUR/USD is slightly higher by +0.0019 (+0.15%). USD/JPY is sharply higher by +0.89 (+1.11%) as the market expects the BOJ to be under increased pressure to ease if the LDP wins the upcoming election as expected, which would be bearish for the yen. USD/JPY The dollar index on Wednesday closed little changed while USD/JPY rallied sharply on yen weakness tied to the call for new elections in which the LDP party is likely to win and further boost the pressure on the BOJ for more asset purchases: Dollar index +0.02 (+0.03%), EUR/USD +0.0032 (+0.25%), USD/JPY +0.87 (+1.10%).
  • Dec WTI crude oil prices this morning are slightly higher by +0.05 (+0.06%) and Dec gasoline is up +0.0152 (+0.57%) Dec crude oil and gasoline prices closed moderately higher on Middle East tensions with Israel upping the ante with Hamas by killing its top military-wing commander and engaging in air attacks on militant targets in Gaza: +0.94 (+1.10%), RBZ2 +0.0252 (+0.95%). The market consensus for Thursday's DOE report is for a 2.5 mln bbl rise in crude oil inventories, an 800,000 bbl rise in gasoline inventories, a 500,000 bbl decline in distillate inventories, and a 0.7 point rise in the refinery utilization rate to 86.1%.
  • For the complete subscription version of this daily report (plus a 13-page big-picture weekly report), along with the earliest possible delivery in the morning, please visit http://www.barchart.com/register/crbfms_usmc.php
    Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (ranked by market cap): Wal-Mart (Consensus:$1.07), TGT-Target (0.91), VIAB-Viacom (1.17), INTU-Intuit (-0.06), DELL-Dell (0.40), GPS-Gap (0.63), AMAT-Applied Material (0.03), ROST-Ross Stores (0.72), DLTR-Dollar Tree (0.49), ADSK-Autodesk (0.43), TDG-Trandigm Group (1.76), SHLD-Sears Holdings (-2.13), HP-Helmerich & Payn (1.24), SBH-Sally Beauty (0.36), MRVL-Marvell Tech (0.20), SINA-Sina Corp (0.11).
    Global Financial Calendar
    

    Thursday 11/15/12
    United States
    0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +20,000 to 375,000, previous -8,000 to 355,000. Weekly continuing claims expected +54,000 to 3.181 mln, previous -135,000 to 3.127 mln.
    0830 ET	Oct CPI expected +0.1% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Sep +0.6% m/m and +2.0% y/y. Oct CPI ex food and energy expected +0.1% m/m and +2.0% y/y, Sep +0.1% m/m and +2.0% y/y.
    0830 ET	Nov Empire manufacturing index expected -1.8 to -8.0, Oct +4.2 to -6.2.
    0900 ET	Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker speaks on the "Economic Outlook" at West Virginia Economic Outlook Conference.
    1000 ET	Nov Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index expected -2.7 to 2.0, Oct +7.6 to 5.7.
    1000 ET	Q3 mortgage delinquencies, Q2 7.58%. Q3 mortgage foreclosures, Q2 4.27%.
    1030 ET	DOE Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
    1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 10-year TIPS to be auctioned Nov 21 (previous $13 billion).
    1320 ET	Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks on housing and the mortgage market in Atlanta.
    1445 ET	Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher speaks at Stanford University's State of the West Symposium luncheon.
    1630 ET	Weekly money supply report and Fed balance sheet.
    1630 ET	Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser speaks at the Cato Institute's annual monetary policy conference.
    1830 ET	NY Fed President Dudley speaks at NY Clearing House event.
    Japan
    0000 ET	Oct Tokyo condo sales, Sep -9.3% y/y.
    Germany
    0200 ET	German Q3 GDP expected +0.1% q/q and +0.8% y/y, Q2 +0.3% q/q and +1.0% y/y.
    Euro-Zone
    0400 ET	ECB's Nov monthly report.
    0500 ET	Eurozone Oct CPI expected +0.2% m/m and +2.5% y/y, Sep +0.7% m/m. Oct core CPI expected +1.5% y/y, Sep +1.5% y/y.
    0500 ET	Eurozone Q3 GDP expected -0.1% q/q and -0.6% y/y, Q2 -0.2% q/q and -0.5% y/y.
    United Kingdom
    0430 ET	UK Oct retail sales ex auto fuel expected -0.1% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Sep +0.6% m/m and +2.9% y/y. Oct retail sales with auto fuel expected -0.1% m/m and +1.6% y/y, Sep +0.6% m/m and +2.5% y/y.

    Barchart.com provides Financial Quotes, Charts and Technical Analysis for Stock and Commodity Traders.

Barchart Morning Call 5/22

Barchart Morning Call

BC - 1 hr ago

Overnight Developments

• June E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading slightly lower by -1.50 points on a little long liquidation pressure after Monday's rally. The stock market remains hopeful about growth measures in Europe and China, but Fitch today downgraded Japan's credit rating and OECD's semi-annual forecast indicated lackluster global economic conditions through next year. Commodity prices are trading lower today with gold down 0.70% and crude oil down 0.46%. The dollar index is mildly higher by +0.25%. T-note prices are down 7 ticks this morning.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 is up +0.67% this morning as hopes emerge that EU leaders at this summit on Wednesday will seriously consider growth measures. Asian stocks today closed higher almost across the board with help from yesterday's U.S. stock market rally: Japan +1.10%, Hong Kong +0.62%, China +1.56%, Taiwan +1.15%, Australia +1.16%, Singapore +1.20%, South Korea +1.69%, India -0.97%, Turkey +0.33%.
• UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano said today that the IAEA and Iran have reached an agreement on nuclear inspections and will site an accord "quite soon." There were no details on exactly what was agreed to or when the accord would be signed. One of the demands on Iran is complete inspections of sensitive nuclear sites, along with a halt of uranium enrichment activity and eventually the shipping of enriched uranium out of Iran. Iran might not be serious about inspections and may just be trying to split negotiators ahead of tomorrow's second round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 (i.e., the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany). Still, some reports of progress are better than nothing when it comes to Iran's nuclear program. Even if Iran agreed to a full inspection program, however, that would be unlikely to be enough to get sanctions eased since Iran still needs to halt enrichment and meet other requirements.
• Fitch today cut Japan's long-term local currency credit rating by one notch to A+, the fifth highest ranking, with a negative outlook. Fitch cut Japan's foreign-currency rating by two notches to A+. Fitch took the action because of Japan's limited progress in addressing its massive debt burden. The OECD today that Japan's gross public debt will be 223% of GDP in 2013, up from a forecasted 214% in 2012. Japan's JGB yields remain low despite the massive debt mainly because Japan finances its debt mainly from domestic investor savings and is not dependent on foreign investor funding or trust.
• OECD today left its OECD country GDP forecast unchanged at +1.6% for 2012. However, OECD cut its GDP forecasts for the Eurozone to -0.1% for 2012 and +0.9% for 2013 from its estimate last November of +0.2% and +1.4%, respectively. OECD said that there is a risk that the spiraling Eurozone debt crisis may hurt the global economy. OECD said there is room for the ECB to further ease monetary policy and that the situation may require the ECB to engage in further government bond purchases. OECD forecasted U.S. GDP growth at +2.0% in 2012 and +2.5% in 2013. OECD said for the U.S. that, "The risk of excessive fiscal tightening in 2013 remains to be addressed, failing that, growth would be severely affected." OECD cut its estimate for Chinese GDP growth to +8.2% in 2012 and +9.3% in 2013 from its November forecast of +8.5% and +9.5%, respectively. OECD said that if China's growth continues to weaken in Q2, the Chinese government "should speed up implementation of key infrastructure projects."
• Chinese officials plan to speed up approval of infrastructure projects and allocate construction spending faster in order to boost economic growth, according to a report today in the China Securities Journal.
• China's April leading economic index of +0.8% y/y was unchanged from March's rise of +0.8% y/y and down slightly from +1.0% y/y in February.
• Spain today successfully sold short-term bills and its 2-year note yield fell 14 bp and the its credit default swap prices fell by 17 bp to 538 bp. Spain today sold 2.5 billion euros worth of bills, which was slightly more than its target of 2.5 billion euros. The Italian 2-year yield today fell by 18 bp.
• The BOJ began a 2-day meeting today but the market consensus is that the BOJ will not announce any fresh stimulus measures. The BOJ just increased its bond purchase program at its meeting a month ago.
• Greek Radical Left leader Tsipras is on a tour of Europe and is meeting today with left-leaning Germany opposition politicians. However, it is telling that Mr. Tsipras is not meeting any members of the German government who undoubtedly do not want to convey any legitimacy on Mr. Tsipras ahead of the June 17 Greek elections. Mr. Tsipras is campaigning on repudiating the austerity terms in the Greek bailout agreement while still somehow staying in the euro.

Overnight U.S. Stock News

• June E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading are slightly lower by -1.50 point (-0.11%), awaiting further developments on Europe and today's economic reports. Stocks were undercut this morning by long liquidation pressure after yesterday's rally, today's downgrade of Japan by Fitch, and the OECD's lackluster forecast for world GDP growth for 2012 and 2013. Medtronic this morning reported its Q1 EPS at 99 cents, slightly higher than the consensus of 98 cents. There are also earnings reports today from DELL-Dell (0.46), AZO-Autozone (6.25), RL-Ralph Lauren (0.85), ADI-Analog Devices (0.51), AVGO-Avango Technology (0.63), BBY-Best Buy (0.60), PETM-Petsmart (0.73), WSM-Williams-Sonoma.
• U.S. stocks on Monday closed sharply higher: S&P 500 +1.60%, Dow Jones +1.09%, Nasdaq 100 +2.70%. Stocks on Monday rallied sharply on short-covering after the recent plunge, sparked by growth-supportive comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Premier Wen over the weekend said, "We should continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, while giving more priority to maintaining growth." The comment came after Wen Jiabao was told by officials in six provinces that "there are prominent problems seen in areas including insufficient demand and falling profits in some industries and companies. The economy is facing increasing downward pressures." Premier Wen's comment spurred expectations that China over the near-term will announce new growth measures. U.S. stocks were also boosted on Monday by takeover speculation after Cooper Industries (CBE) rallied by 25% on a buy-out offer from Eaton (ETN). The markets were also encouraged by German Finance Minister Schaeuble's comment yesterday, after meeting with his new counterpart French Finance Minister Moscovici, that ?We will engage all ideas constructively and find solutions in order to strengthen sustainable growth.? Mr. Moscovici said that French President Hollande wants ?everything on the table? at the informal EU summit on Wednesday including joint euro-area bonds.

Today's Market Focus

June 10-year T-notes this morning are down 7 ticks on the higher trade in European and Asian stocks combined with some supply overhang ahead of the $99 billion coupon package that begins today. T-note prices on Monday closed lower: TYM2 -7.5, FVM2 -0.5. T-note prices fell on Monday as the sharp rally in U.S. and global stocks reduced safe-haven demand for Treasury securities. Even European stocks closed slightly higher by +0.26%. There was also some supply overhang as the market goes into the $99 billion T-note auction package that starts today with the sale of $35 billion in 2-year T-notes. The 2-year note is trading at 0.29%, which may be an acceptable yield from the standpoint of parking money in a relatively safe place but is a sure way to lose money considering that the inflation-adjusted yield on the security is a negative -1.13% against the 2-year T-note breakeven inflation expectations rate of 1.42%. The dollar index this morning is trading +0.21 with EUR/USD down 0.58 (-0.45%) and USD/JPY +0.45 (+0.57%). The yen fell today on the Fitch downgrade and warning about Japan's alarming fiscal condition. The dollar index on Monday closed mildly higher: Dollar Index -0.35, EUR/USD +0.0038, USD/JPY +0.29. The dollar index saw some continued long liquidation pressure after sharp rally seen in the past 3 weeks. German Finance Minister Schaeuble made a euro-bullish comment yesterday by saying, ?We will engage all ideas constructively and find solutions in order to strengthen sustainable growth.? His meeting on Monday with new French Finance Minister Moscovici apparently went well, which was constructive from the standpoint of forming a strong German-French alliance with new French President Hollande to tackle on the ongoing European debt crisis. What the markets certainly do not need at this point is squabbling between Germany and French about "growth" measures. July WTI crude oil prices this morning are down -43 cents (-0.46%) and July gasoline is down -0.26 cents (-0.09%). Bearish factors center on the indications of some type of inspection agreement between the IAEA and Iran. Crude oil and gasoline prices on Monday rallied sharply: CLN12 +1.46 (+1.59%), RBN2 +0.0484 (+1.72%). Crude oil and gasoline rallied mainly on short-covering yesterday after the sharp losses seen in the past 3 weeks and on the pro-growth comments made by Chinese Premier Wen, which seemed to foreshadow some new Chinese stimulus measures to be announced over the near-term. In addition, Goldman Sachs released a report saying that the balance between global crude oil supply and demand is tightening due to supply constraints caused by the export restrictions on Iranian oil. The market consensus for Wednesday's weekly DOE report is for a further 1.5 million barrel rise in crude oil inventories to another new 21-3/4 year high. Today's report is for the week ended May 18, which is prior to the reversal of the Seaway pipeline on May 19. The reversal in the Seaway pipeline should result in a slow drawn-down in oil inventories at the Cushing hub, which reached another new record high of 45.1 million barrels last week. However, the Seaway reversal won't necessarily have an impact on overall U.S. inventories since the oil will simply be flowing from Cushing to the Gulf coast and be stored in facilities at the Gulf, thus have little net impact on overall U.S. crude oil inventories. The DOE report is expected to show a 500,000 increase in gasoline inventories and a 500,000 barrel decline in distillate inventories. The consensus is for the refinery utilization rate to rise 0.4 points to 88.7%, adding to last week's sharp 1.9 point rise to 88.3%. Inventories are running 2.0 points above the 5-year seasonal average of 86.3%.

Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (sorted by mkt cap): MDT-Medtronic (consensus $0.98), DELL-Dell (0.46), AZO-Autozone (6.25), RL-Ralph Lauren (0.85), ADI-Analog Devices (0.51), AVGO-Avango Technology (0.63), BBY-Best Buy (0.60), PETM-Petsmart (0.73), WSM-Williams-Sonoma.
Global Financial Calendar

Tuesday 5/22/12
United States
0400 ET	OECD publishes economic outlook with forecasts for OECD countries.
0615 ET	Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart speaks on monetary policy in Hong Kong.
0745 ET	ICSC (Int?l Council of Shopping Centers) weekly retailer sales.
0855 ET	Redbook weekly retailer sales.
1000 ET	May Richmond Fed manufacturing index expected -3 to 11, Apr +7 to 14.
1000 ET	Apr existing home sales expected +3.1% to 4.62 million, Mar -2.6% to 4.48 million.
1130 ET	Weekly 4-week T-bill auction.
1300 ET	Treasury auction of $35 billion in 2-year T-notes.
1500 ET	USDA Cold Storage report.
1630 ET	API weekly U.S. oil statistics.
Japan
0100 ET	Japan Apr supermarket sales, Mar -2.4% y/y.
1950 ET	Japan Apr adjusted merchandise trade balance expected -617 bln yen, Mar -621.3 billion yen. Apr exports expected +11.8%, Mar 5.9% y/y. Apr imports expected +10.1% y/y, Mar +10.6% y/y.
n/a	2-day BOJ meeting begins.
United Kingdom
0430 ET	UK Mar DCLG House Prices, Feb +0.3% y/y.
0430 ET	UK Apr public finances (PSNCR) expected -6.0 bln pounds, Mar 16.5 bln pounds. Apr public sector net borrowing expected -22.8 bln pounds, Mar 15.9 bln pounds.
0430 ET	UK Apr CPI expected +0.6% m/m and +3.1% y/y, Mar +0.3% m/m and +3.5% y/y. Apr core CPI expected +2.0% y/y, Mar +2.5% y/y. Apr RPI expected +0.6% m/m and +3.4% y/y, Mar +0.4% m/m and +3.6% y/y, Apr RPI ex mortgage interest payments expected +3.5% y/y, Mar +3.7% y/y.
Euro-Zone
1000 ET	Eurozone May consumer confidence expected -20.5, Apr -19.9.

Barchart.com provides Financial Quotes, Charts and Technical Analysis for Stock and Commodity Traders.

Barchart Morning Call 2/23

Barchart Morning Call

Barchart.com - 2 hrs 52 mins ago

Overnight Developments

• Global stocks this morning are mixed with the Euro Stoxx 50 down -0.31% and Mar S&Ps up +2.70 points. The euro fell back from a 1-week high against the dollar and European stocks retreated even after European finance ministers approved 130 billion euros of aid for Greece on concern that Greece's debt crisis will persist even after a second bailout. The dollar index climbed to a 1-week high after IMF and European officials indicated that Greece may remain encumbered by debt even after the bailout and that Greece's debt may still balloon to 160% of GDP in a worst case scenario. Crude oil surged to a 9-1/2 month high in overnight electronic trade after Greece's second bailout was agreed upon along with the report Sunday from Iran's oil-ministry news website Shana that Iran will cut oil supplies to the U.K. and France. U.S. stock futures moved higher after China cut banks' reserve requirements by 50 bp to 20.5% from Feb 24.
• Asian stocks today closed mixed with Japan down -0.23%, China up +0.86%, Australia +0.82%, South Korea -0.0%, India +0.76%. Japanese stocks retreated from Monday's 6-1/2 month high after the yen recovered from its 6-1/2 month low against the dollar. The yen plunged to a 6-1/2 month low against the dollar Monday after Standard & Poor's affirmed Japan's sovereign-debt rating at AA- while maintaining a negative outlook and warned that "a downgrade is likely if medium-term growth prospects weaken." China's Shanghai Stock Index finished higher and just below Monday's 2-1/2 month high as banks and financial stocks rallied on carry-over support from Monday's gains after the PBOC cut banks reserve requirements by 50 bp Saturday along with strength in exporters after the China Daily reported that Vice Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said China will raise export tax rebates for some goods for the first time since 2009 this year.

Overnight U.S. Stock News

• March S&Ps this morning are trading up +2.70 points. The US stock market on Friday settled mostly higher on increased economic confidence along with optimism that an agreement on a Greek rescue package can be reached: Dow Jones +0.35%, S&P 500 +0.23%, Nasdaq Composite -0.27%. The S&P 500 posted a 9-1/2 month high and the Dow Jones climbed to its highest level in 3-3/4 years. Bullish factors Friday included (1) the +0.4% increase in Jan leading indicators, which rose for the fourth consecutive month and points to continued economic strength and (2) optimism a resolution to a Greek aid package can finally be reached after a conference call between Italian Prime Minister Monti, German Chancellor Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Papademos ended with all parties saying an "agreement on Greece" can be reached at the Feb 20 Euro-Zone finance ministers meeting.
• Bearish factors included (1) concern that the action by the ECB to swap its Greek debt holdings for new Greek bonds may be construed by ratings agencies as a default and (2) concern over China's banking system after the China Banking Regulatory Commission reported that Q4 China commercial banks' bad loans rose 20.1 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) to 427.9 billion yuan as non-performing loans accounted for 0.96% of total lending, up from 0.95% in Q3.
• Home Depot (HD) climbed 1% in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 EPS of 50 cents, well ahead of analysts' estimates of 42 cents.

Today's Market Focus

• March 10-year T-notes this morning are down -7.5 ticks. T-note prices on Friday dropped to a 1-1/2 week low and settled lower for a second day as a rally in stocks and speculation that EU leaders will reach an agreement to provide funding for Greece discouraged the safe-haven demand for Treasuries: TYH2 -2.0, FVH2 +0.5, EDM2 -0.5. Bearish factors Friday included (1) the larger-than-expected increase in Jan core CPI which rose at its fastest pace in 3-1/3 years (+2.3% y/y versus expectations of +2.2% y/y), (2) the rally in the S&P 500 to a 9-1/2 month high, which reduced the safe-haven demand for Treasuries, and (3) a conference call between Italian Prime Minister Monti, German Chancellor Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Papademos in which they all agreed that an "agreement on Greece" can be reached at the Feb 20 Euro-Zone finance ministers meeting. Bullish factors included (1) the Fed's action to purchase $4.96 billion of long-term Treasuries as part of its Operation Twist program to hold down borrowing costs by exchanging shorter-term debt in its holdings for longer ones and (2) increased safe-haven demand for Treasuries on concern that the ECB's swap of Greek bonds for new ones may be construed by ratings agencies as a default.
• The dollar index this morning is higher with the dollar/yen +0.03 yen and the euro/dollar -0.37 cents. The dollar index on Friday gyrated on either side of even and finally settled little changed: Dollar Index -0.017, USDJPY +0.620, EURUSD +0.00113. Bearish factors included (1) strength in the euro on optimism a bailout for Greece will soon be finalized, (2) reduced safe-haven demand for the dollar after the S&P 500 rose to a 9-1/2 month high, and (3) strength in the British pound which rose to a 1-week high against the dollar after Jan U.K. retail sales unexpectedly increased for a second month. Bullish factors Friday included (1) weakness in the yen which plunged to a 3-1/2 month low against the dollar and (2) the +0.4% increase in Jan leading indicators, which rose for the fourth consecutive month and point to economic strength that is dollar supportive.
• Mar crude oil prices this morning are up +$1.38 a barrel at a 9-1/2 monthhigh and Mar gasoline is +2.13 cents per gallon at a 6-1/2 month high. Crude oil and gasoline prices Friday settled mixed as weak U.S. fuel demand undercut gasoline while confidence in the U.S. economy and optimism for a Greek aid package lifted crude: CLH12 +$0.93, RBH -3.13. Mar crude posted a 1-1/2 month high and Mar gasoline rose to a 5-1/2 month high but erased its gains and closed lower. Bullish factors included (1) the rally in the S&P 500 to a 9-1/2 month high, which boosts confidence in the economic outlook and energy demand and (2) optimism that progress has been made for Greece to receive an aid package it needs to avoid default. Bearish factors included (1) API data that showed the total deliveries of petroleum products, a measure of demand, fell -5.7% y/y in Jan to 18 million barrels a day, the lowest for a Jan in 17 years and (2) data that shows Jan U.S. crude production climbed by +3.8% to 5.69 million barrels a day, an 8-year high for the month.

Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (confirmed releases, sorted by mkt cap): WMT-Wal-Mart Stores (BEST earnings consensus $1.45), HD-Home Depot (0.42), KFT-Kraft Foods (0.57), MDT-Medtronic (0.84), DELL-Dell (0.51), MHS-Medco Health Solutions (1.17), INTU-Intuit (0.45), CHK-Chesapeake Energy (0.59), M-Macy's (1.65), WFT-Weatherford International Ltd (0.33), RRC-Range Resources (0.30), GPC-Genuine Parts (0.83), MYL-Mylan (0.50), EXPD-Expeditors International (0.46), HLF-Herbalife Ltd. (0.72).
Global Financial Calendar

Tuesday 2/21/12
United States
0830 ET	Jan Chicago Fed national activity index expected +0.05 to +0.22, Dec +0.63 to +0.17.
1130 ET	Weekly 3-mo and 6-mo T-bill auctions.
1300 ET	Treasury auctions $35 billion 2-year T-notes.
United Kingdom
0430 ET	Jan U.K. public sector net borrowing expected -9.1 billion pounds, Dec +10.8 billion pounds.
Canada
0830 ET	Dec Canada retail sales expected -0.2% and +0.2% less autos, Nov +0.3% and +0.3% less autos.
0830 ET	Dec Canada wholesale sales expected +0.5% m/m, Nov -0.4% m/m.
Euro-Zone
0300 ET	EU finance ministers meet in Brussels.
1000 ET	Feb Euro-Zone consumer confidence expected +0.4 to -20.3, Jan +0.6 to -20.7.

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