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US stock market, economy and companies update (January 18, 2013)

Contributed by Trade The News

- The DJIA and S&P500 opened flat this morning, the day after both indices hit five-year intraday highs and the Dow transports and the Russel 2000 closed at their all-time highs. Equities have slid into the red mid morning, with the Dow down 0.12%, S&P down 0.19% and the Nasdaq down 0.4%. The weak showing in the 10:00ET release of the preliminary January U of Michigan confidence survey is putting pressure on equities.

- The euro continued its slide hit session lows during the NY morning after ECB Governor Coeure said he did not expect LTRO reimbursements to have big impact on money markets. The euro has been generally firmer all week as analysts noted said markets could rise as European banks start to return three-year LTRO liquidity that it took from ECB back in Dec 2012. The theory had been that several hundred billion euros would be returned, offering support for the euro.

- Morgan Stanley is moving much higher this morning after a very good earnings report, with shares of MS sustaining a 6% gain. Earnings were well ahead of the consensus view, with revenue from the investment banking arm up approximately 50% y/y. The firm also said that its job cutting campaign was complete.

- General Electric largely met all expectations in its Q4 report and reiterated its FY13 forecast. The firm's backlog returned to record-high levels by the end of the quarter and CEO Immelt talked a lot about solid emerging market demand, especially from China. GE is up 2.7%.

- Intel is down more than 6% after earnings. The firm's headline numbers were right in line with consensus, however gross margins continue to shrink, dropping to the 58% level. Intel warned that margins would remain at 58% in Q1 as well.

- American Express's Q4 results were right in line with their preliminary Q4 report from a week ago, although some extra negative details are driving declines in the name. Both US and international card services net income fell sharply on a y/y basis, even as revenue grew. AXP is down 2%.

- Shares of Capital One are down more than 7% after the firm missed both top- and bottom-line estimates in its Q4, thanks in part to contraction in the firm's net interest margin.

- Shares of Johnson Controls have seen their biggest intraday decline in six months following earnings. The firm's Q1 results met expectations, however its Q2 guidance was well below estimates. The CEO said uncertainties remain in global markets, and warned earnings in the first half of FY13 would be significantly lower than the same period in FY12. JCI is down 4.5%.

***Looking Ahead***
- 14:00 (AR) Argentina Nov Economic Activity Index M/M: No est v 1.1% prior; Y/Y: No est v 3.0% prior
- 16:00 (CO) Colombia Nov Retail Sales Y/Y: 1.2%e v 1.2% prior
- 16:00 (CO) Colombia Nov Retail Y/Y: 1.2%e v -0.2% prior

***Economic Data***
- (RO) Romania Nov YTD Current Account: -€4.3B v -€4.3B
- (PT) Portugal Dec Producer Prices M/M: -0.4% v -0.6% prior; Y/Y: 3.6% v 3.8% prior
- (IN) India Forex Reserves w/e Jan 10th: $296.3B v $295.0B prior
- (BE) Belgium Dec YTD Budget Balance: -€8.0B v -€12.3B prior
- (PL) Poland Dec Avg Gross Wages M/M: 8.8% v 8.2%e; Y/Y: 2.4% v 2.1%e
- (PL) Poland Dec Employment M/M: -0.4% v -0.3%e; Y/Y: -0.5% v -0.4%e
- (PL) Poland Dec Sold Industrial Output M/M: -14.2% v -10.9%e; Y/Y: -10.6% v -6.5%e
- (PL) Poland Dec Producer Prices M/M: -0.6% v -0.2%e; Y/Y: -1.1% v -0.6%e
- (PL) Poland Nov Current Account: -€1.5B v -€0.8Be; Trade Balance: -€394M v +€104Me; Exports: €13.0B v €13.1Be; Imports: €13.4B v €13.1Be
- (CA) Canada Nov Manufacturing Sales M/M: 1.7% v 1.0%e
- (BE) Belgium Jan Consumer Confidence: -23 v -25 prior
- (US) Jan Preliminary University of Michigan Confidence: 71.3 v 75.0e (lowest since Nov 2011)
- (MX) Mexico Central Bank left Overnight Rate unchanged at 4.50%, as expected