Markets May Ride Oil's Momentum

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a notably higher opening on Friday,  with sentiment suggesting that the unstinted support of central banks could take the global economy towards a path of sustainable growth. Reflecting the risk on mood and fears concerning potential production cuts, crude oil prices are higher. In the absence of any major domestic catalysts, the averages could attempt to ride oil's momentum.   U.S. stocks could not sustain early European Central Bank -induced optimism and ended Thursday's session mostly lower, as oil pulled back in response to the dollar's strength. The major averages opened higher and saw further gains in early trading, as the ECB unveiled additional stimulus measures.     However, the averages retreated steadily, falling below the unchanged line by late morning trading. After declining till early afternoon trading, the averages moved roughly sideways below the unchanged line till late trading. Thereafter, the averages trimmed their losses before ending mixed.    The Dow Industrials ended down 5.23 points or 0.03 percent at 16,995 and the Nasdaq Composite closed 12.22 points or 0.26 percent lower at 4,662, while the S&P 500 gained 0.31 points or 0.02 percent before ending at 1,990.    Eighteen of the thirty Dow components closed lower for the session, while twelve stocks advanced. DuPont (DD) and Microsoft (MSFT) fell steeply in the session, but Nike (NKE), Merck (MRK), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC) and Chevron (CVX) rose notably.    Among the sectors, biotechnology, electronic storage, and software stocks came under selling pressure. On the other hand, gold stocks rallied sharply.    On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that jobless claims fell to 259,000 in the week ended March 5th from the downwardly revised reading of 277,000 for the previous week. Economists expected claims to have declined to 272,000 from the initially estimated 278,000 for the previous week.     The four-week average declined to 267,500 from 270,000. Continuing claims calculated with a week's lag fell by 32,000 to 2.225 million in the week ended February 27th.    Currency, Commodity Markets

Crude oil futures for April delivery are advancing $0.99 to $38.83 a barrel after slipping $0.45 to $37.84 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures are currently trading at $1,265.10, down $7.70 from the previous session's close of $1,272.80 an ounce. On Thursday, the futures rallied $15.40.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 113.60 yen compared to the 113.19 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1117 compared to yesterday's $1.1177.

Asia   The major Asian markets rose across the board, although the gains were muted.    The Japanese market advanced moderately, as the yen weakened slightly in the Asian session. The Nikkei 225 Index languished below the unchanged line till the mid-session before recovering in late trading. The index ended up 86.52 points or 0.51 percent at 16,934.    Export stocks ended mostly higher, although machinery stocks saw weakness. Financial, utility, real estate and construction stocks gained ground, while food, pharma and oil stocks lost ground.    Australia's All Ordinaries Index also recovered in late afternoon trading after a lackluster morning session. At the close of trading, the index was up 13.90 points or 0.27 percent at 5,225.     Most sectors moved to the upside, led by consumer, financial, IT and utility stocks. However, telecom and energy stocks declined.    Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 215.18 points or 1.08 percent before ending at 20,200 and China's Shanghai Composite closed at 2,810, up 5.58 points or 0.20 percent. 

On the economic front, confidence among Japanese firms weakened notably in the first quarter, a quarterly survey from the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office showed.    The business survey index for large manufacturers came in at -7.9, compared to +3.8 in the previous quarter. Confidence is forecast to improve in the second quarter, with the expectations index rising to -3.5. Companies expect capital spending to have increased 8.8 percent in fiscal 2015, but it is expected to decline 6.6 percent in fiscal year 2016.  

Europe   After reacting to the ECB move with skepticism yesterday, European stocks are bouncing back strongly and are currently notably higher. The major averages in the regions are up about 2 percent each.    On the economic front, final estimates released by the German Federal Statistical Office showed that consumer prices remained unchanged year-over-year in February following a 0.5 percent increase in January. The monthly inflation rate was 0.4 percent. The increases were in line with expectations. The harmonized index of consumer prices fell 0.2 percent year-over-year, marking the first drop since September 2015. 

The U.K. Office for National Statistical Office showed that the deficit on trade in goods narrowed to 10.3 billion pounds in January from 10.5 billion pounds in December. The reading matched estimates. The total deficit narrowed to 3.5 billion pounds from 3.7 billion pounds.    A separate report showed that construction output in the U.K. declined 0.2 percent month-over-month in January, in line with estimates.     U.S. Economic Reports

Import prices in the U.S. saw a continued decrease in the month of February, according to a report released by the Labor Department, although the drop in prices was not as steep as economists had anticipated.   The Labor Department said its import price index dipped by 0.3 percent in February after tumbling by a revised 1.0 percent in January. Economists had expected import prices to fall by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.1 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month. The report also said the export price index dropped by 0.4 percent in February after sliding by 0.8 percent in January. Export prices had been expected to decline by 0.5 percent.   Stocks in Focus   Ahead of its annual investor day, American Express (AXP) reaffirmed its earnings per share guidance of $5.40-$5.70 for 2016 and at least $5.60 for 2017.    JetBlue (JBLU) reported a load factor of 83.1 percent for February, down 0.4 points year-over-year. Traffic rose 19.1 percent and capacity was up 19.6 percent.    Verifone (PAY) reported better than expected first quarter results and issued upbeat guidance for its second quarter.    Zumiez' (ZUMZ) fourth quarter adjusted earnings and net sales trumped estimates. For February, the company reported an 8.6 percent year-over-year decline in comparable store sales compared to a 6.9 percent increase in the year-ago period. The company's first quarter guidance was weak.    Finisar (FNSR) reported above-consensus results for its third quarter and its fourth quarter guidance was in line.     Comtech Telecom (CMTL) reported second quarter results that trailed estimates. Cumulus Media (CMLS) reported a narrower than expected loss for its fourth quarter and its sales exceeded estimates.