#PreMarket Primer for Tuesday, February 4: Will The Plunge Continue?
Traders know the markets are in a bad way when construction spending and manufacturing data can spark a 300-point plunge in the Dow.
The Dow ended down two percent to close at 15,372.80. The S&P fell 2.3 percent to 1,741.89 and the NASDAQ had the worst day falling 2.6 percent to 3,996.96.
U.S. markets are trending higher Tuesday morning. The Dow is up about 18 points while the S&P is up about three. The NASDAQ is up 3 points in early trading.
- Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) expects fourth-quarter EPS of $1.26 to $1.30—well above consensus of $1.17.
- The Nikkei drops 4.2 percent to a four-month low after the index slipped into correction territory Monday.
Asian Markets
Action in the U.S. markets caused severe downside action in the Asian markets. The Nikkei closed down more than four percent to close at 14,008.47.
The Shanghai composite closed down nearly one percent at 2,033.08 and the Hang Seng, down nearly three percent to close at 21,397.77 after being closed for the Chinese new year.
European Markets
Europe is down in response to the Wall Street carnage yesterday. The FTSE is down about 0.3 percent and the DAX is down about 0.9 percent. The CAC is up about 0.2 percent.
Commodities are mixed as more winter weather affects energy prices. WTI is up about 0.2 percent at $96.61 while Brent is down at $105.68. Natural Gas is up about 2.5 percent to $5.03.
Gold is down about 0.5 percent at $1,253.70 and silver is down 0.4 percent at $19.33. Copper is up 0.3 percent to $3.19
The euro lost some ground against the dollar in early trading and the dollar is stronger against the yen. The euro sits at 1.3513 against the dollar—down only slightly and the dollar is at 101.31 against the yen—0.34 percent higher.
The pound is 0.2 percent higher against the U.S. currency at 1.633 and the Aussie dollar is at 0.887 against the dollar—up about 1.4 percent.
- YUM Brands (NYSE: YUM) is about four percent this morning after reporting better than expected earnings.
- Actavis (NYSE: ACT) is up three percent in light trading after release positive guidance.
- Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) reported third-quarter EPS of $1.70, beating consensus of $1.40. Revenue came in at $767.7 million—higher than the consensus of $701.2 million.
- Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) reported first-quarter EPS of $-0.02 on revenue of $612.4 million. Analysts expected EPS of $0.31 per share on revenue of $609.65 million.
- YUM Brands reported Q4 EPS of $0.86 vs. $0.80 estimate on revenue of $4.18 billion vs. $4.26 billion
Earnings expected after the closing bell include:
- Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.39 on revenue of $2.88 billion
- Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings $0.50 on revenue of $2.85 billion.
Factory Orders will come out at 10:00 am ET and Fed Governor Charles Evans will speak at 12:30 PM ET.
For a recap of Monday's market action, click here.
Tune into Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep show at 8:00 am EST here.
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