PREMARKET WORLD NEWS

Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM17 +0.28%) this morning are up +0.28% and European stocks are up +0.34% as a rebound in crude oil prices from Wednesday’s 2-week low boosts energy producing stocks. May WTI crude oil (CLK17 +0.89%) is up +0.97% on optimism that OPEC will extend its crude production cuts past June. Oman’s oil minister said that Gulf Arab oil producers have agreement to extend production cuts and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister confirmed the initial deal. Signs of strength in the global economy also supported stock gains after Japan Mar exports jumped +12.0% y/y, the largest increase in 2-years. Asian stocks settled mostly higher: Japan -0.01%, Hong Kong +0.97%, China +0.04%, Taiwan -0.08%, Australia +0.30%, Singapore +0.37%, South Korea +0.46%, India +0.29%.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.11%) is down -0.19% at a 3-week low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.27% at a 3-week high on short covering ahead of Sunday’s first round of voting in France’s presidential election where the two leading candidates will run off in a winner-take-all contest on May 7. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.18%.

Jun 10-year T-note prices (ZNM17 -0.14%) are down -5 ticks.

ECB Governing Council member Villeroy de Galhau said “our current monetary policy stance remains fully appropriate based on current information” and “should not be adjusted before we see more concrete signs that inflation can be sustained at levels closer to our target.”

The Japan Mar trade balance was in surplus by +614.7 billion yen, wider than expectations of +608.0 billion yen. Mar exports rose +12.0% y/y, stronger than expectations of +6.2% y/y and the biggest increase in 2-years. Mar imports rose +15.8% y/y, stronger than expectations of +10.0% y/y and the largest increase in 3-years.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected +6,000 to 240,000, previous -1,000 to 234,000) and continuing claims (expected -4,000 to 2.024 million, previous -7,000 to 2.028 million), (2) Apr Philadelphia Fed business outlook index (expected -7.0 to 25.8, Mar -10.5 to 32.8), (3) Mar leading indicators (expected +0.2%, Feb +0.6%), (4) Treasury auctions $ 16 billion of 5-year TIPS, and (5) USDA weekly Export Sales.

Notable S&P 500 earnings reports today include: Visa (consensus $ 0.79), Verizon (0.96), Bank of NY Mellon (0.80), Mattel (-0.17), E-Trade (0.28), Robert Half (0.59), DR Horton (0.59), Nucor (1.14), Travelers (2.35), Sherwin-Williams (2.08).

U.S. IPO’s scheduled to price today: Select Energy Services (WTTR).

Equity conferences: none.

PREMARKET U.S. STOCKS

CSX Corp (CSX +0.64%) gained over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $ 2.87 billion, above consensus of $ 2.76 billion.

Qualcomm (QCOM -0.11%) rose over 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $ 1.34, higher than consensus of $ 1.19.

Foot Locker (FL +0.08%) tumbled 5% in pre-market trading after it said it sees Q1 EPS of $ 1.36-$ 1.39, below consensus of $ 1.48.

eBay (EBAY -0.50%) lost 2% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q2 adjusted EPS continuing operations of 43 cents-45 cents, below consensus of 47 cents.

United Rentals (URI -0.34%) fell over 4% in after-hours trading after the company reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $ 1.63, better than consensus of $ 1.52, but said rental rates “remained under some pressure.”

American Express (AXP -0.32%) gained more than 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $ 7.90 billion, higher than consensus of $ 7.79 billion.

Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI -0.06%) slid over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 80 cents, weaker than consensus of 89 cents.

Plexus (PLXS +1.22%) sold-off 10% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q3 revenue of $ 595 million-$ 625 million, well below consensus of $ 688.3 million.

Kaiser Aluminum (KALU -1.35%) rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $ 1.52, well above consensus of %$ 1.12.

Westar Energy (WR +0.88%) tumbled over 9% in after-hours trading after Great Plains Energy’s proposed $ 8.6 billion takeover of Westar was rejected by Kansas utility regulators.

Select Comfort (SCSS +3.36%) surged 13% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 net sales of $ 393.9 million, above consensus of $ 370 million, and then said it sees full-year EPS of $ 1.25-$ 1.50, the midpoint above consensus of $ 1.31.

Datawatch (DWCH -0.70%) rallied over 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 revenue of $ 8.8 million, above consensus of $ 8.4 million.

TCP Capital (TCPC -0.06%) lost over 2% in after-hours trading after it announced that it has commenced a public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock.

Whitestone REIT (WSR -1.04%) dropped over 5% in after-hours trading after it announced that it has commenced a public offering of 8.1 million shares of its common stock.

SLM Corp (SLM +0.35%) jumped over 7% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year core EPS of 70 cents-72 cents, better than consensus of 69 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM17 +0.28%) this morning are up +6.50 points (+0.28%). Wednesday’s closes: S&P 500 -0.17%, Dow Jones -0.58%, Nasdaq +0.15%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday closed lower on weakness in energy producing stocks after crude oil prices plunged 3.76% to a 2-week low and on hawkish comments from Boston Fed President Rosengren who said the Fed should embark on a “very gradual” reduction in its balance sheet so that it doesn’t have to alter the path of rate hikes. Meanwhile, bank stocks rallied after Morgan Stanley rose 2% after it reported Q1 revenue of $ 9.75 billion, better than consensus of $ 9.29 billion.

Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM17 -0.14%) this morning are down -5 tiocks. Wednesday’s closes: TYM7 -7.50, FVM7 -2.75. Jun 10-year T-notes on Wednesday closed lower on the Fed’s Beige Book that said the U.S economy continued to grow at a “modest to moderate pace.” T-notes were also undercut by hawkish comments from Boston Fed President Rosengren who said if Fed shrinks its balance sheet gradually, it can still keep to its pace of rate hikes.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.11%) this morning is down -0.185 (-0.19%) at a 3-week low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0040 (+0.37%) at a 3-week high and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.20 (+0.18%). Wednesday’s closes: Dollar index +0.312 (+0.31%), EUR/USD -0.0019 (-0.18%), USD/JPY +0.43 (+0.40%). The dollar index on Wednesday closed higher on the increase in U.S. T-note yields, which is positive for the dollar’s interest rate differentials, and on the Fed’s Beige Book that said the economy continues to grow at a “modest to moderate pace.

May WTI crude oil prices (CLK17 +0.89%) this morning are up +49 cents (+0.97%) and May gasoline (RBK17 +0.91%) is +0.0179 (+1.08%). Wednesday’s closes: May crude -1.97 (-3.76%), May gasoline -0.0520 (-3.04%). May crude oil and gasoline on Wednesday closed lower with May crude and May gasoline at 2-week lows. Crude oil and gasoline prices were undercut by a stronger dollar, the unexpected +1.54 million bbl increase in EIA gasoline stockpiles (more than expectations for a -2.0 million bbl draw) and the +0.2% increase in U.S. crude production in the week of Apr 14 to 9.252 million bpd, a 1-1/2 year high.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR 04/20/2017
Thursday, Apr 20
US0830 ETWeekly initial unemployment claims expected +6,000 to 240,000, previous -1,000 to 234,000. Weekly continuing claims expected -4,000 to 2.024 million, previous -7,000 to 2.028 million.
0830 ETApr Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey expected -7.0 to 25.8, Mar -10.5 to 32.8.
0830 ETUSDA weekly Export Sales.
1000 ETMar leading indicators expected +0.2%, Feb +0.6%.
1100 ETTreasury announces amount of 2-year T-notes (previous $ 26 billion), 2-year floating-rate notes (previous $ 15 billion), 5-year T-notes (previous $ 34 billion) and 7-year T-notes (previous $ 28 billion) to be auctioned Apr 25-27.
1300 ETTreasury auctions $ 16 billion of 5-year TIPS.
Friday, Apr 21
US0930 ETMinneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (voter) participates in a Q&A at the Hamline University Community Economic Development Symposium in St. Paul, MN.
0945 ETApr Markit manufacturing PMI expected +0.2 to 53.5, Mar -0.9 to 53.3. Apr Markit services PMI expected +0.6 to 53.4, Mar -1.0 to 52.8.
1000 ETMar existing home sales expected +2.2% to 5.60 million, Feb -3.7% to 5.48 million.
1500 ETUSDA Mar Cattle on Feed.
U.S. STOCK CALENDAR 04/20/2017
CompanyTickerTimeEvent DescriptionPeriodEstimate
Danaher CorpDHR US06:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.843
Sherwin-Williams Co/TheSHW USBef-mktQ1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 2.077
DR Horton IncDHI USBef-mktQ2 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ2 17 0.591
BB&T CorpBBT USBef-mktQ1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.729
Quest Diagnostics IncDGX USBef-mktQ1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 1.175
PPG Industries IncPPG USBef-mktQ1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 1.315
KeyCorpKEY US06:30Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.282
Bank of New York Mellon Corp/TheBK US06:30Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.799
Snap-on IncSNA US06:30Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 2.35
Travelers Cos Inc/TheTRV US06:57Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 2.347
Dover CorpDOV US07:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.611
People’s United Financial IncPBCT US07:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.223
Philip Morris International IncPM US07:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 1.029
Citizens Financial Group IncCFG US07:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.505
Verizon Communications IncVZ US07:30Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.962
Alliance Data Systems CorpADS US07:30Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 3.855
Iron Mountain IncIRM US08:00Investor Day
Danaher CorpDHR US08:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
BB&T CorpBBT US08:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Bank of New York Mellon Corp/TheBK US08:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
People’s United Financial IncPBCT US08:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Citizens Financial Group IncCFG US08:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Verizon Communications IncVZ US08:30Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
CSX CorpCSX US08:30Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Alliance Data Systems CorpADS US08:30Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Quest Diagnostics IncDGX US08:30Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
KeyCorpKEY US09:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Nucor CorpNUE US09:00Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 1.142
Travelers Cos Inc/TheTRV US09:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Philip Morris International IncPM US09:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Texas Instruments IncTXN US09:30Annual General Meeting
Stanley Black & Decker IncSWK US09:30Annual General Meeting
Humana IncHUM US09:30Annual General Meeting
People’s United Financial IncPBCT US10:00Annual General Meeting
DR Horton IncDHI US10:00Q2 2017 Earnings CallQ2 17
Regions Financial CorpRF US10:00Annual General Meeting
Dover CorpDOV US10:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Snap-on IncSNA US10:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Kimberly-Clark CorpKMB US10:30Annual General Meeting
Sherwin-Williams Co/TheSHW US11:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Citigroup IncC US11:00Q1 2017 Earnings Call – Fixed Income Investor CallQ1 17
PPG Industries IncPPG US11:00Annual General Meeting
Newmont Mining CorpNEM US11:00Annual General Meeting
United Rentals IncURI US11:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
JB Hunt Transport Services IncJBHT USAnnual General Meeting
Huntington Bancshares Inc/OHHBAN USAnnual General Meeting
AES Corp/VAAES USAnnual General Meeting
Torchmark CorpTMK US12:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Nucor CorpNUE US14:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
SL Green Realty CorpSLG US14:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
PPG Industries IncPPG US14:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
E*TRADE Financial CorpETFC USAft-mktQ1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.389
Mattel IncMAT US16:05Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 -0.172
Visa IncV US16:05Q2 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ2 17 0.787
Robert Half International IncRHI US16:15Q1 2017 Earnings ReleaseQ1 17 0.585
Mattel IncMAT US17:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Robert Half International IncRHI US17:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Visa IncV US17:00Q2 2017 Earnings CallQ2 17
E*TRADE Financial CorpETFC US17:00Q1 2017 Earnings CallQ1 17
Intuitive Surgical IncISRG US18:00Annual General Meeting