Luke KawaThe Globe and Mail
The Before the Bell report is updated throughout the premarket to reflect the latest news developments and market moves. Check back later for updates.
U.S. equity futures are moving higher this morning ahead of the open on the heels of Monday's strong start to the week.
S&P/TSX 60 futures are also advancing in the pre-market session.
South of the border, it's another day light on economic data but jam-packed with earnings, with firms like Baker Hughes Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and Yahoo! Inc. all slated to report their first-quarter results.
The second Chinese default in as many days – this time, of state-owned Boading Tianwei Group Go. – has increased fears of a wave of defaults as policymakers look to transition from credit-fuelled growth to expansion driven by consumer spending. Evidently, the Chinese government is willing to allow some of the weaker hands to collapse rather than prop them up by providing favourable access to credit.
Nonetheless, the Shanghai Composite index managed to advance, while the Hang Seng index posted healthier gains.
European bourses are generally in positive territory, but off their highs of the day following news that Germany's ZEW index of economic sentiment unexpectedly moderated in March.
Concerns about the situation in Greece are also on the rise.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the European Central Bank is studying ways to reduce the Emergency Liquidity Assistance it has provided to Greek banks, including increasing the discounts on the collateral banks post to access funds from the Bank of Greece.
The Athens Stock Exchange, and Greek banks in particular, experienced sizeable losses.
West Texas Intermediate futures have softened overnight, but remain above $56 (U.S.) per barrel.
The big event on the Canadian calendar today is the release of the federal budget at 4 p.m. ET, though it is unlikely to have any effect on currency or rates markets.
Here's a look at the latest market numbers and other highlights ahead of the trading day.
Futures:
S&P 500 +0.31 per cent; Dow +0.28 per cent; Nasdaq +0.37 per cent
Equities:
Hong Kong's Hang Seng +2.79 per cent
Shanghai composite index +1.82 per cent
Japan's Nikkei +1.4 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.1 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.48 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.03 per cent
Stoxx 600 +0.44 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex May) -0.59 per cent at $56.05 (U.S.) a barrel
Natural gas (Nymex May) +1.38 per cent at $2.571
Gold (Comex Jun) +0.37 per cent at $1,198.10 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex May) -0.42 per cent at $2.7185 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 81.81 (U.S.), up 0.0002
U.S. dollar index up 0.297 at 98.238
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 1.8695 per cent, down 0.02
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada wholesale trade for February fell 0.4 per cent month-over-month, defying expectations for a 0.5 per cent increase.
(4 p.m. ET) Canadian federal budget released.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Teck Resources Ltd. announced that it was cutting its biannual payout to 15 cents from 45 cents in light of the drop-off in commodity prices. The company's first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 11 cents missed the consensus estimate by three cents.
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. is readying a public bid for rival drugmaker Mylan NV in a move that would shore up the market share in generics that the Israeli company has lost in recent years, according to Bloomberg.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. announced an equity issuance to raise more than $1-billion at a slight discount to its share price and also hiked its dividend by 6 per cent. The company is also reportedly bidding on Australian real estate currently being divested by Morgan Stanley's Investa Property Group. U.S.-listed shares fell in the after-hours session.
Fortinet Inc. posted stronger than anticipated first-quarter results after the close on Monday, sending shares up more than 7 per cent in the after-hours session.
International Business Machines Corp. was volatile in the after-hours session on Monday after reporting better than expected profits but the 12th consecutive quarter of annual revenue declines.
United Technologies Corp. reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.58, 12 cents about the consensus estimate.
Earnings expected Tuesday include: ACE Limited; Amgen Inc.; ARM Holdings PLC ADS; Baker Hughes Incorporated; Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.; Celestica Inc; Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.; Credit Suisse Grp AG ADS; Cree Inc.; Discover Financial Services; Dover Corp.; East West Bancorp Inc.; Fifth Third Bancorp; FMC Tech Inc.; Gannett Co.; Genuine Parts Co.; Gilead Sciences Inc.; Harley-Davidson Inc.; Illumina Inc.; Infinera Corp.; Intuitive Surgical Inc.; Kimberly-Clark Corp.; Liberty Property Trust; Lockheed Martin Corp.; ManpowerGrp Inc.; Nabors Indus Ltd.; Northern Trust Corp.; Omnicom Grp Inc.; Paccar Inc.; Signature Bank ; Stryker Corp.; Teck Resources Ltd.; Under Armour Inc.; United Rentals Inc.; United Technologies Corp., Verizon Communications Inc.; Yahoo! Inc.; YUM! Brands Inc.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. was upgraded to "sector outperform" from "sector perform" at CIBC.
Encana Inc. was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" at Morgan Stanley.
Canadian National Railway Co. was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Desjardins Securities.
Sterling Resources Ltd. was lowered to "hold" from "speculative buy" at TD Securities.