MORNING CALL 1/18

Barchart Morning Call

Barchart.com - 1 hour ago

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH17 +0.03%) are up +0.06% ahead of data on U.S. Dec consumer prices and industrial production, while European stocks are down -0.16% ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting and any indications from the central bank on when it may begin to taper stimulus. The upside in stocks is limited as Feb WTI crude prices (CLG17 -1.64%) are down -1.26%, which is undercutting energy producing stocks. Crude prices retreated after IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said he sees U.S. shale-oil output rising "in significant terms" due to the recent rally in oil prices and that there will be "lots more' supply in late 2017/early 2018. Asian stocks settled mixed: Japan +0.43%, Hong Kong +1.13%, China +0.14%, Taiwan -0.13%, Australia -0.36%, Singapore -0.42%, South Korea -0.11%, India +0.08%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Index recovered from a 1-1/4 month low and closed higher after USD/JPY rebounded from a 1-1/2 month low and moved higher, which fueled a rally in exporter stocks.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.37%) is up +0.34%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.23%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.66%.

Mar 10-year T-note prices (ZNH17 -0.20%) are down -8 ticks after comments from San Francisco Fed President Williams who said that "further gradual increases in the target fed funds rate will likely be appropriate."

San Francisco Fed President Williams said late Tuesday that "further gradual increases in the target fed funds rate will likely be appropriate" to keep the U.S. economy on a sustainable course and avoid excess inflation or damaging asset bubbles.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly MBA mortgage applications (previous +5.8% with purchase sub-index +6.1% and refi sub-index +4.4%), (2) Dec CPI (expected +0.3% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Nov +0.2% m/m and +1.7% y/y) and Dec CPI ex food & energy (expected +0.2% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Nov +0.2% m/m and +2.1% y/y), (3) Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan (voter) will speak at a panel discussion at the Dallas Fed followed by media and audience Q&A, (4) Dec industrial production (expected +0.6%, Nov -0.4%), (5) Jan NAHB housing market index (expected -1 to 69, Dec +7 to 70), (6) Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (voter) discusses the economy at the Minneapolis Urban League, (7) Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

S&P 500 earnings reports today include: Goldman Sachs (consensus $4.84), Citigroup (1.12), Schwab (0.46), US Bancorp (0.81), Fastenal (0.38), Northern Trust (1.13), Netflix (0.13), Kinder Morgan (0.18).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences today: TD Securities Mining Conference on Wed, ACI Future of Polyolefins Summit on Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Goldman Sachs (GS -3.50%) fell 2% in pre-market trading after it reported Q4 EPS of $5.08, higher than consensus of $4.84, but said Q4 equities and trading revenue was $1.59 billion, below consensus of $1.61 billion.

Wells Fargo (WFC -2.77%) was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Argus.

McKesson (MCK +0.85%) was upgraded to 'Market Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Avondale Partners LLC with a 12-month target price of $193.

Hancock Holding (HBHC -3.46%) reported Q4 EPS of 64 cents, stronger than consensus of 61 cents.

Linear Technology (LLTC -0.05%) reported Q2 revenue of $375.8 million, higher than consensus of $373.8 million.

HP Enterprise (HPE -1.09%) bought Simplivity for $650 million in cash.

Toys R Us (TOY) reported that same-store comparable sales for the 9-week period ended December 31, fell =3.4%.

San Francisco Fed President Williams (non-voter) said more gradual interest rate increases will likely be needed, given a "strong" U.S. economy that's reached full employment with inflation approaching 2%.

United Continental Holdings (UAL -0.78%) lost over 1% in after-hours trading after it forecast Q1 Prasm growth of down -1% to up +1%, weaker than consensus of up +0.5% to +1.5%.

CSX Corp. (CSX -1.83%) dropped 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 49 cents, below consensus of 50 cents.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX -4.92%) fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it said a Phase II clinical study of its Ingrezza to treat adults with Tourette syndrome did not meet its pre-specified primary endpoint.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ -1.47%) slid 4% in after-hours trading after the U.S. FDA said it approved the first generic version of Jazz's Xyrem drug to treat patients with narcolepsy.

Teladoc (TDOC -5.18%) dropped 5% in after-hours trading after certain stock holders are reportedly offering to sell 7.25 million shares of stock.

Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR -1.96%) fell over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported an unexpected Q4 comprehensive loss of -5 cents a share, much weaker than consensus for Q4 adjusted EPS to climb 35 cents.

Shiloh Industries (SHLO -3.23%) jumped 11% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 50 cents, well above consensus of 18 cents.

Almost Family (AFAM +1.48%) sank 9% in after-hours trading after it announced a proposed underwritten public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock.

Gigamon (GIMO -2.87%) plunged over 20% in after-hours trading after it reported preliminary Q4 revenue of $84.5 million-$85 million, below consensus of $92.2 million.

MARKET COMMENTS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH17 +0.03%) this morning are up +1.25 points (+0.06%). Tuesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.30%, Dow Jones -0.30%, Nasdaq -0.29%. The S&P 500 on Tuesday closed lower on Mr. Trump's opposition to the border-adjustment tax system proposed by House Republicans, which suggests that the corporate tax rate will not be lowered by as much as earlier hoped. There was also carry-over weakness from a slide in European stocks to a 2-weeke low on concerns about Brexit after UK Prime Minister May pledged to take Britain out of the European Union. Stocks recovered from their worst levels on upbeat comments from New York Fed President Dudley (voter) who said "I am optimistic that the economic expansion will continue over the next few years."

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH17 -0.20%) this morning are down -8 ticks. Tuesday's closes: TYH7 +14.50, FVH7 +10.00. Mar 10-year T-notes on Tuesday closed higher as the 10-year T-note yield fell to a 1-1/2 month low. T-note prices were boosted by comments from New York Fed President Dudley that dampened inflation concerns when he said "the recent strengthening of the dollar will put downward pressure on import prices and limit the ability of domestic producers to raise their prices."

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.37%) this morning is up 0.34 (+0.34%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0025 (-0.23%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.74 (+0.66%). Tuesday's closes: Dollar index -0.87 (-0.86%), EUR/USD +0.0112 (+1.06%), USD/JPY -1.58 (-1.3%). The dollar index on Tuesday slid to a 1-1/4 month low and closed lower on comments from President-elect Trump who told the WSJ that the U.S. dollar is "too strong" in part because China holds down its currency. There was also strength in EUR/USD which posted a 1-1/4 month high after the German Jan ZEW survey expectations of economic growth rose to a 7-month high.

Feb WTI crude oil prices (CLG17 -1.64%) this morning are down -66 cents (-1.26%) and Feb gasoline (RBG17 -1.18%) is -0.0122 (-0.76%). Tuesday's closes: Feb crude +0.16 (+0.31%), Feb gasoline -0.0095 (-0.59%). Feb crude oil and gasoline on Tuesday settled mixed with Feb crude oil at a 1-week high. Crude oil prices were boosted by the sell-off in the dollar index to a 1-1/4 month low and by expectations that Thursday's weekly EIA data will show U.S. crude inventories fell -1.3 million bbl. Gasoline closed lower on expectations that Thursday's weekly EIA data will show gasoline supplies rose +2.0 million bbl.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR01/18/2017

		Wednesday, Jan 18
US	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous +5.8% with purchase sub-index +6.1% and refi sub-index +4.4%.
	0830 ET	Dec CPI expected +0.3% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Nov +0.2% m/m and +1.7% y/y. Dec CPI ex food & energy expected +0.2% m/m and +2.1% y/y, Nov +0.2% m/m and +2.1% y/y.
	0900 ET	Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan (voter) will speak at a panel discussion at the Dallas Fed followed by media and audience Q&A.
	0915 ET	Dec industrial production expected +0.6%, Nov -0.4%. Dec manufacturing production expected +0.5%, Nov -0.1%. Dec capacity utilization expected +0.4 to 75.4%, Nov -0.4 to 75.0%.
	1000 ET	Jan NAHB housing market index expected -1 to 69, Dec +7 to 70.
	1100 ET	Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (voter) discusses the economy at the Minneapolis Urban League.
	1500 ET	Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.
		Thursday, Jan 19
US	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +5,000 to 252,000, previous +10,000 to 247,000. Weekly continuing claims expected -12,000 to 2.075 million, previous -29,000 to 2.087 million.
	0830 ET	Dec housing starts expected +8.9% to 1.187 million, Nov 18.7% to 1.090 million. Dec building permits expected +1.1% to 1.225 million, Nov -3.8% to 1.212 million.
	0830 ET	Jan Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey expected -5.5 to 16.0, Dec +13.9 to 21.5.
	1100 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 2-year T-notes (previous $26 billion), 2-year floating-rate notes (previous $13 billion), 5-year T-notes (previous $34 billion) and 7-year T-notes (previous $28 billion) to be auctioned Jan 24-26.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $13 billion of 10-year TIPS.
	2000 ET	Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR01/18/2017

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Charles Schwab Corp/The	SCHW US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.358
US Bancorp	USB US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.809
Fastenal Co	FAST US	7:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.379
Northern Trust Corp	NTRS US	7:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	1.125
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The	GS US	7:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	4.838
Citigroup Inc	C US	8:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	1.119
CSX Corp	CSX US	8:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
US Bancorp	USB US	9:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The	GS US	9:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Fastenal Co	FAST US	10:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
United Continental Holdings Inc	UAL US	10:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Micron Technology Inc	MU US	11:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2017
Citigroup Inc	C US	11:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Northern Trust Corp	NTRS US	12:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Netflix Inc	NFLX US	16:05	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.132
Kinder Morgan Inc/DE	KMI US	16:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Netflix Inc	NFLX US	17:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Kinder Morgan Inc/DE	KMI US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.18

5 Large Caps for Momentum Investors

This morning I wanted to find 5 Large Cap stocks with consistent upside momentum.  I used Barchart to sort the S&P 500 Large Cap Index stocks first for the highest number of new highs in the last month, then again for technical buy signals of 80% or more.  Today's Watch List includes:

Arthur J Gallagher (AJG), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Total Systems (TSS), Altria Group (MO) and Apple (AAPL).

Arthur J Gallagher (AJG)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 88% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 12 new highs and up 3.23% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 58.42%
• Technical support level at 52.13
• Recently traded at 52.40 with a 50 day moving average of 50.70

Charles Schwab (SCHW)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 88% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 12 new highs and up 4.58% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 66.34%
• Technical support level at 40.76
• Recently traded at 41.12 with a 50 day moving average of 37.57

Total Systems (TSS)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 100%  technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 12 new highs and up 7.55% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 71.68%
• Technical support level at 53.00
• Recently traded at 53.40 with a 50 day moving average of 49.95

Altria Group (MO)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 80% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 11 new highs and up 2.54% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 62.59%
• Technical support level at 67.76
• Recently traded at 67.95 with a 50 day moving average of 65.45

Apple (AAPL)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 100% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 10 new highs and up 4.36% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 69.84%
• Technical support level at 118.14
• Recently traded at 118.99 with a 50 day moving average of 112.94

MORNING CALL 3/23

MORNING CALL

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM16 +0.01%) are down -0.02% and European stocks are up +0.40%. The upside in U.S. stock index futures was limited as Nike fell nearly 6% in pre-market trading after it forecast sales during the next fiscal year will increase by a high-single-digit percentage, less than consensus of a 10% increase. Weakness in EUR/USD gave European automakers a boost to lead European stocks higher and Credit Suisse Group AG is up 2% after it announced an additional 2,000 job cuts. Asian stocks settled mixed: Japan -0.28%, Hong Kong -0.25%, China +0.35%, Taiwan -0.22%, Australia -0.47%, Singapore +0.05%, South Korea -0.07%, India +0.03%.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.22%) is up +0.17%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.19%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.25%.

Jun T-note prices (ZNM16 -0.01%) are down -1 tick.

In an Economic Bulletin published by the ECB, the ECB said that a 1% decline in China GDP would have an impact of just 0.08% on Eurozone trade, while the effect of an equivalent demand shock in the U.S. would be more than three time bigger. "The trade impact on the Eurozone from a demand disturbance in the U.S. is likely to be substantial through both bilateral trade effects and echo effects. A similar shock in China would have less impact on Eurozone activity."

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly MBA mortgage applications (previous -3.3% with purchase sub-index +0.3% and refi sub-index -5.6%), (2) St. Louis Fed President James Bullard's speech on Bloomberg TV and radio, (3) Feb new home sales (expected +3.2% to 510,000, Jan -9.2% to 494,000), and (4) the Treasury's auction of $13 billion of 2-year floating-rate T-notes.

There are 2 of the Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: General Mills (consensus $0.62), PVH Corp (1.46).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Bank of America Merrill Lynch New York Auto Summit on Wed, BB&T Capital Markets Commercial & Industrial Investors Conference on Wed-Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Nike (NKE +0.28%) dropped nearly 6% in pre-market trading after it reported Q3 revenue of $8.03 billion, well below consensus of $8.20 billion.

Red Hat (RHT +1.08%) slipped 2% in after-hours trading after it said Q4 billings growth was only 10.9% q/q, below the 14.9% q/q growth rate from Q3.

Charles Schwab (SCHW +0.46%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Argus Research.

Merk (MRK +0.44%) rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it won a jury verdict that allows it to seek royalties from Gilead Sciences for its Hepatitis C cure. Gilead Sciences (GILD +1.13%) fell almost over 3% on the news.

Steelcase (SCS +1.42%) rallied 5% in after-hours trading after it boosted its dividend to 12 cents a share from 11.25 cents a share.

Five Below (FIVE -1.59%) dropped nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it said it sees fiscal year EPS of $1.27-$1.31, below the midpoint of consensus of $1.31.

Biogen (BIIB +1.32%) slid over 2% in after-hours trading after the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board said Kyle Bass has shown a reasonable likelihood of success to challenge the Biogen patent on Tecfidera.

Cintas (CTAS +0.19%) gained over 1% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on fiscal 2016 EPS continuing operations to $3.98-$4.03 from a prior estimate of $3.83-$3.90, above consensus of $3.92.

Shell Midstream Partners LP (SHLX +2.10%) fell over 4% in after-hours trading after it said it started a 8.5 million-unit secondary offering.

Aratana Therapeutics ({=PETX gained almost 1% in after-hours trading after it said it is seeking FDA approval for its Entyce appetite-stimulation drug for dogs.

Affymetrix (AFFX -0.21%) climbed over 5% in after-hours trading after Origin Technologies increased its all-cash offer to buy Affymetrix for $17 a share.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD -0.90%) slumped 7% in after-hours trading after it said it sees fiscal year adjusted EPS of 87 cents-91 cents, below consensus of 93 cents.

Pieris Pharmaceuticals (PIRS +3.30%) jumped over 10% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q4 loss of -7 cents, a smaller loss than consensus of-12 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM16 +0.01%) this morning are down -0.50 (-0.02%). Tuesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.09%, Dow Jones -0.23%, Nasdaq +0.24%. The S&P 500 on Tuesday shook off early losses and rallied to a 2-1/2 month high and closed little changed. Stocks were boosted by upbeat comments from Chicago Fed President Evans who said he expects U.S. 2016 GDP between 2.0% and 2.5% and that "the fundamentals are really quite good for the economy going forward." Stocks also received a boost from technology stocks, which were led by a +0.8% increase in Apple. Stocks saw early weakness in leisure and travel-related stocks due to the terrorist bombings in Belgium.

Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM16 -0.01%) this morning are down -1 tick. Tuesday's closes: TYM6 -7.00, FVM6 -5.25. Jun T-notes on Tuesday erased early gains and closed lower on reduced safe-haven demand for government debt after stocks recovered from early losses and on Chicago Fed President Evans' comment that U.S. economic fundamental are "really quite good," which may lead to further Fed interest rate increases. T-notes opened higher on safe-haven demand after the terrorist bombings in Belgium.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.22%) this morning is up +0.166 (+0.17%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0021 (-0.19%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.28 (+0.25%). Tuesday's closes: Dollar Index +0.360 (+0.38%), EUR/USD -0.0024 (-0.21%), USD/JPY +0.42 (+0.38%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed higher on increased safe-haven demand for the dollar after the terrorist bombings in Brussels. In addition, GBP/USD saw weakness after a smaller-than-expected increase in UK Feb CPI reduced the chance of a BOE rate increase, which was negative for the British pound.

May WTI crude (CLK16 -0.99%) this morning is down -41 cents (-0.99%) and May gasoline (RBK16 +0.17%) is up +0.0040 (+0.26%). Tuesday's closes: CLK6 -0.07 (-0.17%), RBK6 +0.0348 (+2.33%). May crude and gasoline on Tuesday settled mixed with May gasoline at a 2-1/2 month high. Crude oil prices were undercut by a stronger dollar and by expectations for EIA crude inventories to increase by +2.5 million bbl on Wednesday. Gasoline rallied on expectations that Wednesday's EIA gasoline supplies will decline by -2.5 million bbl.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR03/23/2016

US	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous -3.3% with purchase sub-index +0.3% and refi sub-index -5.6%.
	0900 ET	St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks on Bloomberg TV and radio.
	1000 ET	Feb new home sales expected +3.2% to 510,000, Jan -9.2% to 494,000.
	1030 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $13 billion 2-year floating-rate T-notes.
EUR	1100 ET	Eurozone Mar consumer confidence expected +0.5 to -8.3, Feb -8.8.
JPN	2300 ET	Japan Mar Nikkei manufacturing PMI, Feb 50.1.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR03/23/2016

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
General Mills Inc	GIS US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2016 Earnings Release	Q3 2016	0.621
Principal Financial Group Inc	PFG US	8:00	Roadshow - Frankfurt	Y 2016
CIT Group Inc	CIT US	8:00	Business Update Call
General Mills Inc	GIS US	8:30	Q3 2016 Earnings Call	Q3 2016
First Niagara Financial Group Inc	FNFG US	10:00	Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting - M&A Vote	Y 2016
KeyCorp	KEY US	11:00	Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting - M&A Vote	Y 2016
Starbucks Corp	SBUX US	13:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2016
PVH Corp	PVH US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	1.464
Raymond James Financial Inc	RJF US		February 2016 Sales and Revenue Release - Operating Data	2016
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co	HPE US		Annual General Meeting	Y 2016

BARCHART MORNING CALL 10/15

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Thursday, October 15th, 2015View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ15 +0.71%) are up +0.69% and European stocks are up +1.53% as global stocks and emerging-market currencies rallied on speculation that a Fed interest rate increase has been pushed back into next year. European stocks rose further and EUR/USD fell back from a 1-1/2 month high on signs that the ECB is concerned about deflation and may expand QE after ECB Governing Council member Nowotny said both headline and core inflation in the Eurozone are "clearly missing our target," which contrasts from comments he made three weeks ago when he said there was "equilibrium" in prices. Asian stocks settled higher: Japan +1.15%, Hong Kong +2.00%, China +2.32%, Taiwan +0.93%, Australia +0.63%, Singapore +1.05%, South Korea +1.20%, India +0.86%. China's Shanghai Composite rallied up to a 1-1/2 month high after the Chinese government unveiled a $36 billion plan to reorganize China's telecom industry, which bolstered speculation the government will accelerate reforms of state-owned companies to revive economic growth.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.17%) is up +0.17% as it rebounds from an overnight 1-1/2 month low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.31% and retreated from a 1-1/2 month high after comments from ECB Governing Council member Nowotny fueled speculation the ECB may expand QE. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.45% to a 1-1/2 month low.

Dec T-note prices (ZNZ15 -0.10%) are down -3.5 ticks.

ECB Governing Council member Nowotny hinted that the ECB may need to expand QE measures when he said both headline and core inflation in the Eurozone are "clearly missing our target" and that "additional" steps may be necessary to achieve growth.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected +7,000 to 270,000, previous -13,000 to 263,000) and continuing claims (expected -4,000 to 2.200 million, previous +9,000 to 2.204 million), (2) Sep CPI (expected -0.2% m/m and -0.1% y/y, Aug -0.1% m/m and +0.2% y/y) and Sep CPI ex food & energy (expected +0.1% m/m and +1.8% y/y, Aug +0.1% m/m and +1.8% y/y), (3) Oct Empire manufacturing survey general business conditions (expected +6.67 to -8.00, Sep +0.25 to -14.67), (4) Oct Philadelphia Fed outlook survey diffusion index (expected +4.0 to -2.0, Sep -14.3 to -6.0), (5) New York Fed President William Dudley's speech at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C. about how the Fed should decide the appropriate level of interest rates, (6) St. Louis Fed President James Bullard's opening remarks at the St. Louis Fed’s annual fall policy conference, (7) Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester's speech at the NYU Stern Center for Global Business and Economy,

There are 13 of the S&P 500 companies report earnings today with notable reports including Goldman Sachs (consensus $3.00), Citigroup ($1.27), UnitedHealth Group (1.64), Mattel (0.80), Schlumberger (0.77), Wynn Resorts (0.85).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: Adesto Technologies (IOTS), Fuling Global (FORK), American Farmland Co (AFCO).

Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Energy Storage North America Conference on Thu, and Moody's UK Water Sector Conference on Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

UnitedHealth Group (UNH -1.55%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.65, better consensus of $1.64.

PPG Industries (PPG +0.14%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.61, higher than consensus of $1.57.

Philip Morris International (PM +0.08%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.24 above consensus of $1.12.

Goldman Sachs (GS -0.81%) reported Q3 qdjusted EPS of $2.64, well below consensus of $3.00.

Garmin Ltd. (GRMN +0.38%) fell over 10% in pre-market trading after it reported preliminary adjusted Q3 EPS of 51 cents, weaker than consensus of 64 cents, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to $2.25 from a July estimate of $2.65, well below consensus of $2.62.

Manitowoc (MTW -2.91%) plunged 12% in after-hours trading after it forecast Q3 preliminary sales of $863 million, weaker than consensus of $942 million.

Dexcom (DXCM -6.35%) jumped nearly 10% in after-hours trading after it reported preliminary Q3 revenue of $105 million, higher than consensus of $97.9 million

Xilinx (XLNX +2.02%) rose nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 48 cents, better than consensus of 46 cents.

HCA Holdings (HCA +0.21%) tumbled over 9% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of $1.17, below consensus of $1.22. Community Health Systems (CYH -0.90%) also fell over 6% and Tenet Healthcare (THC -2.48%) slipped 9% in after-hours trading on the weaker-than-expected earnings from HCA Holdings.

Netflix (NFLX +0.46%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 7 cents, less than consensus of 8 cents.

MBIA Inc. (MBI +1.72%) jumped over 9% and Assured Guaranty (AGO +1.41%) rose over 1% in after-hours trading after the WSJ reported that Puerto Rico and U.S. officials are discussing issuance of a "superbond" to help restructure Puerto Rico's debt.

Imprivata (IMPR -3.30%) slumped over 30% in after-hours trading after it reported a preliminary Q3 adjusted EPS loss of -22 cents to -23 cents, a bigger loss than consensus of -20 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Dec E-mini S&Ps (ESZ15 +0.71%) this morning are up +13.75 points (+0.69%). Wednesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.47%, Dow Jones -0.92%, Nasdaq-0.14%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday closed lower on carryover weakness from a slide in global stocks on Chinese economic concerns after China Sep PPI fell -5.9% y/y, the steepest decline in 6 years. There were also concerns about the pace of U.S. growth after the U.S. Sep retail sales report of +0.1% and-0.3% ex autos was weaker than expectations of +0.2% and -0.1% ex autos. Also, WalMart fell by -10% to a 3-1/3 year low after the world's largest retailer forecast earnings will drop by 6-12% in fiscal 2017, weaker than analysts' projections for a +4% increase.

Dec 10-year T-notes (ZNZ15 -0.10%) this morning are down -3.5 ticks. Wednesday's closes: TYZ5 +22.00, FVZ5 +13.25. Dec T-notes on Wednesday rose to a 1-1/2 week high and settled higher on the weaker-than-expected U.S. Sep retail sales and Sep PPI reports, which reduce the chance of a Fed interest rate increase this year. T-notes also received a boost from the slide in global stocks, which boosts the safe-haven demand for Treasuries.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.17%) this morning is up +0.161 (+0.17%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0036 (-0.31%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down-0.54 (-0.45%) at a 1-1/2 month low. Wednesday's closes: Dollar Index -0.828 (-0.87%), EUR/USD +0.0095 (+0.83%), USD/JPY -0.92 (-0.77%). The dollar index on Wednesday tumbled to a 1-1/2 month low and closed lower on increased chances for a further Fed rate hike delay after the weaker-than-expected U.S. Sep PPI and Sep retail sales reports. In addition, the China Sep PPI fell by the most in 6 years, which suggests weak Chinese product demand.

Nov crude oil (CLX15 -1.14%) this morning is down -54 cents (-1.16%) at a 1-week low and Nov gasoline (RBX15 +1.01%) is up +0.0144 (+1.10%). Wednesday's closes: CLX5 -0.02 (-0.04%), RBX5 +0.0068 (+0.52%). Nov crude oil and gasoline on Wednesday settled mixed with Nov crude falling to a 1-week low and Nov gasoline posting a 9-month low. Crude oil prices were undercut by the weak U.S. retail sales report and Chinese PPI report and by expectations that Thursday's weekly EIA inventory data will show that U.S. crude inventories rose +2.6 million bbl and Cushing stockpiles rose +900,000 bbl. Crude oil prices found some underlying support from the decline in the dollar index to a 1-1/2 month low.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR10/15/2015

US	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +7,000 to 270,000, previous -13,000 to 263,000. Weekly continuing claims expected -4,000 to 2.200 million, previous +9,000 to 2.204 million.
	0830 ET	Sep CPI expected -0.2% m/m and -0.1% y/y, Aug -0.1% m/m and +0.2% y/y. Sep CPI ex food & energy expected +0.1% m/m and +1.8% y/y, Aug +0.1% m/m and +1.8% y/y.
	0830 ET	Oct Empire manufacturing survey general business conditions expected +6.67 to -8.00, Sep +0.25 to -14.67.
	1000 ET	Oct Philadelphia Fed outlook survey diffusion index general conditions expected +4.0 to -2.0, Sep -14.3 to -6.0.
	1030 ET	New York Fed President William Dudley speaks at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C. about how the Fed should decide the appropriate level of interest rates.
	1030 ET	St. Louis Fed President James Bullard makes opening remarks at the St. Louis Feds annual fall policy conference.
	1100 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 30-year TIPS to be auctioned Oct 22.
	1630 ET	Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks at the NYU Stern Center for Global Business and Economy.
JPN	0030 ET	Revised Japan Aug industrial production, Jul -0.5% m/m and +0.2% y/y.
	0030 ET	Japan Aug capacity utilization, Jul -0.2% m/m.
	0030 ET	Japan Aug tertiary industry index expected unch m/m, Jul +0.2% m/m.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR10/15/2015

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
PPG Industries Inc	PPG US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	1.571
Charles Schwab Corp/The	SCHW US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.267
UnitedHealth Group Inc	UNH US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	1.64
KeyCorp	KEY US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.267
US Bancorp	USB US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.811
BB&T Corp	BBT US	5:45	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.686
Philip Morris International Inc	PM US	7:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	1.122
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The	GS US	7:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	3
Citigroup Inc	C US	8:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	1.274
BB&T Corp	BBT US	8:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
UnitedHealth Group Inc	UNH US	8:45	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
KeyCorp	KEY US	9:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
Philip Morris International Inc	PM US	9:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
US Bancorp	USB US	9:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The	GS US	9:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
Citigroup Inc	C US	11:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
PPG Industries Inc	PPG US	14:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
People's United Financial Inc	PBCT US	16:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.218
Mattel Inc	MAT US	16:05	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.795
Wynn Resorts Ltd	WYNN US	16:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
Mattel Inc	MAT US	17:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
People's United Financial Inc	PBCT US	17:00	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
Schlumberger Ltd	SLB US	Aft-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.766
Wynn Resorts Ltd	WYNN US	Aft-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.851
PG&E Corp	PCG US	21:30	Commonwealth Club of San Francisco Presents CEO, Tony Earley
American Express Co	AXP US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
JPMorgan Chase & Co	JPM US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
Bank of America Corp	BAC US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
Citigroup Inc	C US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
Morgan Stanley	MS US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
Capital One Financial Corp	COF US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies
Discover Financial Services	DFS US		Credit-card Charge-offs and Delinquencies