MARKETS AT A GLANCE:
(Data as of approximately 5 p.m. ET)
LAST CHANGE % CHG
DJIA 16424.85 162.29 1.00%
Nasdaq 4086.23 52.06 1.29%
S&P 500 1862.31 19.33 1.05%
Japan: Nikkei 225 14417.68 420.87 3.01%
Hang Seng 22696.01 24.75 0.11%
Shanghai Composite 2105.12 3.52 0.17%
S&P BSE Sensex 22277.23 -207.7 -0.92%
Australia: S&P/ASX 5420.3 32.1 0.60%
UK: FTSE 100 6584.17 42.56 0.65%
PRICE CHG YIELD%
U.S. 2 Year 0/32 0.371
U.S. 5 Year -4/32 1.648
U.S. 10 Year 0/32 2.632
Australia 10 Year 4/32 3.994
China 10 Year 5/32 4.52
India 10 Year -1/32 8.958
Japan 10 Year -1/32 0.611
German 10 Year -4/32 1.488
LAST(MID) CHANGE
Australia $ (AUD/USD) 0.9369 -0.0002
Yen (USD/JPY) 102.22 -0.02
S. Korean Won (USD/KRW) 1038.45 0.12
Chinese Yuan (USD/CNY) 6.2218 0
Euro (EUR/USD) 1.3814 -0.0002
WSJ Dollar Index 72.98 0
LAST CHANGE % CHG
Crude Oil 103.82 0.07 0.07%
Brent Crude 109.54 0.18 0.16%
Gold 1302.2 1.9 0.15%
SNAPSHOT:
U.S. stocks gained broadly and Treasurys slipped amid rising
hopes of economic stimulus from Asia and a sharp two-day rally from
highflying stocks helped bolster investor confidence. Crude-oil
prices ended near flat after government data showed a rise in
supplies. Gold prices edged higher on worries about rising tensions
in Eastern Europe.
OPENING CALL:
Japan investors will get a key reading on consumer sentiment
when the monthly Consumer Confidence Index survey is released
Thursday. The index contracted for the third straight month in
February to 38.2, its worst reading since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
entered office in January 2013 and the lowest since September 2011.
A reading below 50 indicate pessimists outnumber optimists.
EQUITIES:
U.S. stocks gained broadly, bringing the S&P 500 index into
positive territory for the year.
Rising hopes of economic stimulus from Asia and a sharp two-day
rally from highflying stocks helped bolster investor
confidence.
The rally picked up some steam in afternoon trading, led by
high-octane biotechnology and social-media stocks. The Nasdaq
Biotechnology Index rose 2.4%. Those so-called momentum stocks have
made a series of big swings in the first half of April, roiling the
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
So far this month, the Nasdaq has lost 2.7%, and the Nasdaq
Biotechnology Index has dropped 5.8%. Initially, many of those
sharp moves were driven by trading in exchange-traded funds,
traders said.
In corporate news, New York investment bank Moelis rose $1.15,
or 4.6%, to $26.15 in its public debut, after pricing its initial
public offering below its forecast range.
Twitter slipped $1.10, or 2.4%, to $44.42. The stock shot up 11%
Tuesday, the biggest one-day gain since the microblogging site went
public in November. Tuesday's rally came one day after some of the
company's earliest and biggest backers said they didn't plan to
sell shares when rules barring them from doing so expire next
month.
In Asian trading Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shot up
3%, after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he would
closely monitor stock prices and that inflation was on a steady
track toward the 2.0% target. China's Shanghai Composite gained
0.2%.
FOREX:
The dollar held its gains against the yen after Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen indicated in a speech that the central bank
has no plans to raise interest rates ahead of schedule.
Investors have heard Ms. Yellen reiterate recently a monetary
policy position that includes keeping U.S. interest rates low. They
expected no significant deviation from this stance in Wednesday's
comments, said Ken Wills, senior corporate dealer at USForex. Ms.
Yellen spoke to the Economic Club of New York.
"There was nothing surprising from her comments to cause the
dollar to move drastically," Mr. Wills said. "The dollar will
continue to trade within current ranges and is likely to have more
of a reaction around fundamental data as they come in, the key
being employment."
Also, the British pound rose against major currencies after the
Office for National Statistics reported the unemployment rate in
Britain fell to its lowest level in five years. The unemployment
rate dropped to 6.9% during the three months to February, from 7.1%
over the previous three months.
Investors took the news as a signal that the Bank of England
would raise interest rates sooner than expected, which would
support the British pound by boosting the value of
sterling-denominated assets.
BONDS:
Treasury bonds slipped as global economic data brightened the
growth outlook and sapped demand for haven assets.
Bond prices also weakened as comments from Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen disappointed some investors looking for
stronger signals that the central bank will keep interest rates
lower for longer.
Still, the 10-year yield is trading near a six-week low as
growing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine kept a lid on selling in
U.S. government bonds.
Weighing on bond prices was data showing that U.S. industrial
production rose by 0.7% in March, pointing to expansion of the
manufacturing sector.
"Bond yields have room to rise if the U.S. economy continues to
gain traction later this year," said William Larkin, fixed-income
portfolio manager with Cabot Money Management in Salem, Mass.,
which manages $575 million in assets.
COMMODITIES:
Crude-oil prices fell from a six-week intraday high to end near
flat after government data showed the biggest one-week increase in
U.S. crude-oil supplies in 13 years.
Crude-oil stockpiles rose by 10 million barrels last week to
394.1 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration
said. Analysts had expected stocks to rise by 1.5 million barrels
on the week, according to a Wall Street Journal survey.
The increase, the biggest one-week gain in crude stocks since
March 2001, highlighted concerns that booming U.S. production of
light crude is overwhelming refineries' capacity to process it.
Gold prices edged higher as worries about rising tensions in
Eastern Europe slightly outweighed expectations of decreased demand
for the precious metal in China.
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Google Shares Slide After Disappointing Results
Google posted a 3% increase in first-quarter net income to $3.45
billion despite a continuing decline in how much advertisers pay
per click, as users shift to smartphones and tablets.
IBM's Profit Slides As Hardware Sales Keep Falling
International Business Machines reported a 21% drop in 1Q profit
as the computing giant's revenue continued to be stung by a sharp
decline in hardware sales.
American Express Profit Rises on Higher Revenue
American Express said first-quarter earnings rose to $1.43
billion, or $1.33 a share, due to expense controls and higher
revenue. Per-share earnings beat analysts' views but revenue
missed.
U.S. Economy Thawing, Survey Finds
Economic activity in most of the country rebounded in recent
weeks from weather-related slowdowns earlier this year, according
to the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" survey of regional economic
conditions.
Yellen Says Fed Policy Hinges on Three 'Big Questions'
Federal Reserve officials will weigh three "big
questions"--including low inflation and labor-market slack--as they
consider when the economy is healthy enough to begin raising rates,
Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said.
Bank of America Reports Loss
BofA reported a 1Q loss of $276 million, or 5c a share, versus a
profit of $1.48 billion a year ago, as it was weighed down by $6
billion in legal charges and by slumping mortgage originations.
Revenue fell 2.7% to $22.57 billion. Shares were off 3%.
N.Y. Attorney General Subpoenas High-Speed Firms
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office is said to
have sent its first wave of subpoenas to about a half-dozen
high-frequency trading firms in an investigation into whether some
rapid-fire firms have an unfair advantage over other trading
outfits.
U.S. Housing Starts Climb 2.8% in March
U.S. housing starts rose 2.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted
annual pace of 946,000, fueled by growth in single-family homes,
but broader trends suggest the market remains in a slump.
U.S. Industrial Production Rises in March
Industrial production increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in
March from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said. Capacity
utilization, a gauge of slack across industries, rose 0.4
percentage point to a 79.2% rate.
Yamana Gold, Agnico-Eagle Agree to Buy Osisko
Canadian gold companies Yamana Gold and Agnico-Eagle Mines said
they have reached agreement to buy Osisko Mining for $3.6 billion,
in what could prove be one of the largest mining deals so far this
year.
RECENT DJ DOMINANTS:
Bank of America in Multibillion Dollar Settlement Talks With
Justice Dept. Over Mortgage Securities
GIP Exploring Sale of 50% Stake in Ruby Pipeline
Democratic Fundraising Tops GOP in Key House Races
Cereal Maker Post Holdings Is Likely Winner in Auction of
Michael Foods
Spain Launches EUR7 Billion Property-Loan Sale
Sonic Plans to Accelerate Expansion
TODAY'S CALENDAR:
(Times in GMT, followed by country and event)
2100 SKA Mar PPI
0030 SIN Mar Merchandise Trade, incl non-oil domestic
exports
0130 AUS Mar Foreign Exchange Transactions and Holdings of
Official Reserve Assets
0130 AUS Mar International Merchandise Imports
0130 AUS Mar New Motor Vehicle Sales
0200 CHN Mar FDI Foreign Direct Investment
0300 SKA Q1 Foreign exchange transaction trends
0500 JPN Mar Consumer Confidence Survey
0530 JPN Mar Nationwide department store sales
0530 JPN Mar Tokyo area department store sales
0600 GER Mar PPI
0830 UK Mar CML mortgage lending figures
0900 FRA French President Francois Hollande meets Czech Prime
Minister Bohuslav Sobotka
1230 US 04/12 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report -
Initial Claims
1230 US U.S. Weekly Export Sales
1230 CAN Feb Employment Insurance
1230 CAN Mar CPI
1345 US Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
1400 US Apr Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey
1400 US 04/05 DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer
1430 US 04/11 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
2030 US Money Stock Measures
2030 US Foreign Central Bank Holdings
2030 US Federal Discount Window Borrowings