The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.
U.S. and Canadian stock futures are slightly in the red this morning as the Street takes in a disappointing reading on U.S. consumer spending in April.
U.S. personal spending fell 0.1 per cent during the month, missing the Street expectation for a 0.2 per cent rise. It marked the first time consumers cut spending in a year.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, took a dive on a weaker-than-expected reading on first-quarter gross domestic product in this country. It's trading at 92.09 cents (U.S.), down about three-tenths of a cent from where it was prior to the 830 a.m. (ET) data. Data on Thursday showed the U.S. economy actually contracted during that quarter, but traders aren't overly concerned, believing economic conditions picked up with the warmer weather in the spring.
Overseas markets are pretty tranquil. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index lost 0.3 per cent after the country said its core consumer price inflation hit a 23-year high last month - a sign the nation has firmly left the days of uncontrollable deflation behind it. But Japan also released numbers showing that household spending and factory output fell more than economists expected.
The big economic report out of Asia will have to wait until Sunday, when China releases its official manufacturing purchasing manager's index for May. The index is expected to rise to 50.6 from April's 50.4, according to a Reuters survey. How China's economy is tracking has important ramifications for the Canadian market, especially for stocks involved in producing hard assets such as copper and crude oil.
A trio of senior Fed officials will be speaking at an economic and banking conference in California today. Traders will be watching for clues from their economic assessments on when the Fed may be in a position to hike interest rates. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is not speaking, however.
Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what is still to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
Futures: S&P 500 -0.08 per cent; Dow -0.04 per cent; Nasdaq -0.03; S&P Toronto -0.06 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.31 per cent
Shanghai composite index -0.08 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -0.34 per cent
London's FTSE 100 -0.15 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.01 per cent
France's CAC 40 -0.61 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Jly) -0.36 per cent at $103.21 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Apr) -0.33 per cent at $1,253.00 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Jly) +0.32 per cent at $3.15 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 92.09 (U.S.), down 0.0019
U.S. dollar index down 0.04 at 80.45
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.46 per cent, down 0.006
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Canada GDP for the first quarter rose 1.2 per cent on an annualized basis, after expanding by a downwardly revised 2.7 per cent in the fourth quarter. That missed the consensus forecast for a 1.8 per cent first quarter expansion.
Canadian industrial product prices for April rose 0.4 per cent from March, versus market expectations for a 0.2 per cent drop.
U.S. personal income in April rose 0.3 per cent from March, matching expectations. Personal spending, however, fell 0.1 per cent, whereas the market was expecting it to rise 0.2 per cent. That was the first time consumers cut spending in a year. But the 3-month annualized rate of real spending was a healthy 3.8 per cent in April.
(955 a.m. ET) U.S. releases the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
PrairieSky Royalty, Encana's spinoff company that premiered Thursday on the TSX, should continue to see heavy trading action. The stock closed at $37 Thursday, well above the IPO price of $28.
Earnings include: Big Lots, Ann Taylor, Express.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
CIBC World Markets downgraded Royal Bank of Canada to "sector performer" from "sector outperformer" and lowered its price target to $81 (Canadian) from $82.
M Partners hiked its price target on Input Capital to $5.10 (Canadian) from $3.10 and reiterated a "buy" rating.
Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Apple to $720 (U.S.) from $635 and maintained a "buy" rating.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:
Why investors should be cautious about India.
BlackRock CEO says leveraged ETFs could 'blow up' the entire industry.
Bill Ackman is said to be planning a public hedge fund in London.
Margins don't matter when picking stocks.
Jeremy Siegel on what will send yields higher and when that's likely to happen.
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For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities.
Darcy Keith