>>> US Close Dow +1,27% S&P+1,22% Nasdaq+0,92% Russell

Closing Market Summary: Stocks Jump As Fed Loses Patience

The stock market spent the first half of the Wednesday session in the red, but surged into the green following the latest policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee. The S&P 500 settled higher by 1.2% with all ten sectors ending in the green.

Over the past few days, much of the discussion centered around today's FOMC Statement with participants speculating whether the central bank was going to remove its call for patience. Although the Fed took out "patient," the statement remained quite dovish as the Fed lowered its 2015 GDP forecast range to 2.3%-2.7% from 2.6%-3.0% that was expected in December. Furthermore, the central bank lowered its inflation forecast range to 0.6%-0.8% from 1.0%-1.6%.

Staying on the inflation theme, the committee noted that it needs to be "reasonably confident" that inflation will move back towards the 2.0% objective before hiking rates.

The S&P 500 spiked about 20 points immediately following the statement and continued its advance as the afternoon progressed. Similarly, Treasuries surged in reaction to the diminished likelihood of June rate hike with the 10-yr yield falling 10 basis points to 1.95%. The benchmark note continued its advance during electronic trading, pressuring its yield to the lowest level since early February (1.92%).  

Conversely, the dovish tone weighed on the greenback, sending the Dollar Index (97.48, -2.11) lower by 2.2% to last week's levels. Notably, the euro jumped nearly 3.0% to 1.0900, and the pullback in the dollar gave a boost to commodities. Gold futures spiked 1.7% to $1168.20/ozt while crude oil rallied 3.0% to $44.77/bbl. In turn, the energy sector (+2.9%) finished the day in the lead while the utilities sector (+2.7%) led the countercyclical side.

The utilities sector solidified its spot atop this week's leaderboard (+4.3% week-to-date) while the top-weighted countercyclical group—health care (+1.3%)—settled in-line with the market. Interestingly, biotechnology struggled to keep pace with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 358.14, +1.89) climbing 0.6%. To be fair, the biotech ETF still managed to register its fifth consecutive gain while setting a fresh record high.

Switching back to the cyclical side, the top-weighted technology sector (+1.3%) finished just ahead of the broader market with Oracle (ORCL 44.13, +1.26) providing support. The sector heavyweight spiked 2.9% after reporting in-line earnings on below-consensus revenue; however, the company boosted its quarterly dividend by 25.0% to $0.15/share. In other sector earnings, Adobe (ADBE 76.89, -2.77) lost 3.5% after its cautious guidance for Q2 overshadowed a bottom-line beat.

Elsewhere, transport stocks underperformed after FedEx (FDX 173.30, -2.41) beat bottom-line estimates and guided below consensus estimates. Shares of FDX fell 1.4% while the broader Dow Jones Transportation Average added 0.4%. For its part, the industrial sector (+1.2%) settled in-line with the broader market.

Today's participation was ahead of average with more than 860 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, which fell 3.9% to follow last week's 1.3% decline.

Tomorrow, weekly Initial Claims (consensus 293K) and Q4 Current Account Balance (consensus -$105.00 billion) will be reported at 8:30 ET while February Leading Indicators (expected 0.2%) and March Philadelphia Fed Survey (consensus 6.9) will both be released at 10:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite +5.2% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +3.9% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +2.0% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.4% YTD

>>> US After Hours : GES +12.3%, SFS +10.1%, SCVL +9.4%, JUNO -

After Hours Summary: GES +12.3%, SFS +10.1%, SCVL +9.4%, JUNO -3.8%, GOMO -3.2%, WSM -3.2% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: GES +12.3%, SFS +10.1%, SCVL +9.4%, NQ +8.9%, HIIQ +4.3%, TLYS +1.3%, CTAS +1.3%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: RAD +2.2% (announced intention to offer $1.8 billion aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2023 in connection with acquisition of EnvisionRx), CELG +0.6% (announced that results from a phase 2 trial of three doses of GED-0301 in patients with active Crohn's disease were published in the March 19 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine), SBUX +0.5% (signed an agreement with Tingyi Holding to expand in China's $6 bln ready-to-drink coffee & energy category), AMAG +0.5% (announced it is updating the current U.S. label of Feraheme (ferumoxytol) Injection following discussions with the FDA)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: JUNO -3.8%, GOMO -3.2%, WSM -3.2%, JBL -1.8%, NVRO -1.7%, SLW -1.1%, AVA -0.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: SIGA -9.3% (announced it received a NASDAQ delisting notification), HK -5.5% (disclosed that on March 18, 2015, it entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with various 'Managers' under which it may sell up to $150 mln of common stock), CNCE -4.8% (announced proposed public offering of common stock, size not disclosed), TKMR -2.8% (announced that it is offering to sell 6 mln common shares in an underwritten public offering), CCG -2.5% (announced that it will be delayed in filing its Annual Report for 2014 due to management's work to 'enhance its disclosure practices and internal controls'), HUN -2.4% (announced intention to privately offer EU 300 mln in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2025), EQY -2.2% (announced offering of 3.9 mln shares of common stock), DGX -1.8% (announced pricing of $250 mln of 6.950% senior notes due 2037), GARS -1.6% (announced public offering of 809,990 shares of common stock by selling stockholders), MNST -1.2% (disclosed that on March 12, 2015, it entered into a letter agreement with Mark J. Hall, confirming his position change from Chief Brand Officer to Chief Marketing Officer effective as of January 1, 2015) 

(BN) Holcim-Lafarge Said to Progress on Last-Ditch Talks to Save Deal


Holcim-Lafarge Said to Progress on Last-Ditch Talks to Save Deal
2015-03-18 19:25:03.663 GMT


By Aaron Kirchfeld, Jacqueline Simmons and Francois de Beaupuy
(Bloomberg) -- Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA are progressing
in last-ditch talks to salvage their $40 billion cement merger,
said people familiar with the matter.
A preliminary agreement on adjusted financial terms and
leadership changes could be reached as early as tonight,
according to the people, who cautioned that talks may drag on
into Thursday or yet fall apart.
The two companies are discussing a revised exchange ratio
where Holcim would give about 0.90 of a share in return for one
Lafarge share, instead of the original one-to-one ratio, said
the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are
private.
The companies have reached a preliminary understanding to
make Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont co-chairman of the new entity amid
growing resistance to him taking the top job, they said. Another
Lafarge executive is likely to be chosen as the new CEO of the
combined entity instead, they said. Lafont would be co-chairman
with Holcim Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle, they said.
Holcim has been questioning Lafont’s ability to reach
savings targets after it outperformed its French partner on
everything from sales to profit since the deal was announced in
April last year. Lafont and Holcim managers have also clashed
over issues including leadership style and strategy, according
to the people.

Board Meetings

The boards of both companies are meeting tonight to discuss
the compromise, they said. There is pressure to reach an accord
before investors of Ireland’s CRH Plc, which agreed to buy 6.5
billion euros ($6.9 billion) in assets that Holcim and Lafarge
need to sell for regulatory approval, meet tomorrow to approve
the purchase, people familiar with the matter have said.
Lafarge rose 5.5 percent in Paris, giving it a value of 18
billion euros, while Holcim gained 2.7 percent in Zurich,
lifting the market value to 25 billion Swiss francs ($25
billion). CRH added 4.4 percent in Dublin.
The dispute over leadership by the 58-year-old Frenchman
Lafont shows how a clash of personalities can become the biggest
liability in mergers. The gum-chewing, cigar smoking Lafont and
the soft-spoken Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana, who was due to
remain in his post until the merger completion, have disagreed
on key issues from the start, a person familiar with the matter
said earlier this week.
Holcim and Lafarge have predicted the merger will lead to
cost savings of 1.4 billion euros annually, giving them an
advantage over rivals as a global recession eroded demand for
building materials and forced some kilns to run at a loss.
If the terms of the deal change to a 0.90 to 1 ratio, it
would turn the deal value positive in 2014 and 6.8 percent more
earnings accretive in 2015, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

For Related News and Information:
Lafarge-Holcim Said to Mull Lafont as Co-Chairman for Merger
Lafarge Forecasts 2015 Profit Gains as Cement Markets Revive
CRH Buys Cement Assets From Holcim-Lafarge for $7.3 Billion
Holcim earnings graph: HOLN VX <Equity> FA ISBAR <GO>
Holcim enterprise value: HOLN VX <Equity> EV <GO>
Top Swiss stories: TOPS <GO>
Bloomberg Intelligence building-materials: BI BMATG <GO>
Top deal news: DTOP <GO>
Real M&A columns: NI REALMNA <GO>

--With assistance from Matthew Campbell and Sonia Baldeira in
London and Jan-Henrik Förster in Zurich.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Aaron Kirchfeld in London at +44-20-3525-8830 or
akirchfeld@bloomberg.net;
Jacqueline Simmons in Paris at +33-1-5365-5055 or
jackiem@bloomberg.net;
Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at +33-1-5365-5051 or
fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Simon Thiel at +44-20-3525-2814 or
sthiel1@bloomberg.net
Andrew Noël

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: Yellen replaces "patience" for policy normalization with worries over impact of rising USD on exports and inflation


***Economic Data***
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.8% V 0.8%E; Y/Y: 3.5% (highest since Q3 of 2007) V 3.4%E
- (KR) South Korea Feb PPI Y/Y: -3.6% v -3.6% prior; 7th month of decline

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.6%, S&P/ASX +1.8%, Kospi +0.5%, Shanghai Composite -0.2%, Hang Seng +0.9%, Jun S&P500 +0.1% at 2,095

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold +0.6% at $1,173, May crude oil -0.9% at $46.20/brl
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 1.8 tonnes to 749.8 tonnes; First rise since Feb 21st
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY15B in 7-day reverse repos (7th consecutive injection); Drains net CNY25B this week v drained CNY53B prior (4th week of drain)
- (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥551.1B in foreign bonds v bought ¥268.2B in prior week; Foreign investors bought net ¥244.3B in Japan stocks v bought ¥291.8B in prior week
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1460 v 6.1556 prior setting (strongest yuan setting since Feb 26th)
- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs, ¥240B in 10-25yr JGBs and ¥140B in JGBs with maturity over 25-yr

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Fed chair Yellen wrongfooted investors positioned for a hawkish removal of the "patient" language from today's policy statement with a substantially more dovish tilt, reduction of GDP forecasts, tempered projections for the pace of policy normalization (dots chart), and more vocal worries over stronger USD. Macro positions of higher USD and treasury yields, lower precious metals, and volatile equity markets building for the past few weeks saw a violent reversal - Dow Industrials spiked up over 200pts to hit a 1-week high of 18,100, EUR/USD zoomed nearly 4 big figures as high as 1.10 handle, USD/JPY fell over 150pips below 119.50, yield on the 10-yr bench mark slid nearly 15bps toward 1.90%, and gold spiked up over $25 above $1,175 all in the immediate aftermath of the Fed surprise.

- Yes, the Fed removed the "patient" component in the third paragraph of its statement pertaining to its intentions for normalizing policy. But it inserted a vague precondition of "reasonable confidence" for inflation to return to 2% objective, while also adding economic activity has moderated (from solid), export growth has weakened (from growing), and deemed market-based inflation indicators remaining low. All other components of the statement - improved labor market, moderately rising household spending, slow property market recovery, and balanced risks for activity and labor - were left unchanged. FOMC staff projections lowered 2015 and 2016 GDP midpoint to 2.5% from 2.8% and 2.75% respectively, and the median call for 2015-end fed funds rate was scaled back all the way to 0.625% from 1.175%. 2016 median was set lower by 62.5bps at 1.875% and that of 2017 lower by 50bps at 3.125%. At the accompanying press conference, Yellen added the removal of "patient" language does not mean Fed will be impatient, falling prices have restrained inflation, and that strong dollar is among the reasons for weaker export growth and low inflation expectations.

- Outside the post-Fed volatility, sentiment in the Asia session has been largely consolidative. EUR/USD retreated below $1.08 and AUD/USD below $0.7750, while lower USD/JPY weighed on Tokyo and traded in a 60pip band around ¥121 level. NZD saw little reaction to Q4 GDP data, even though y/y growth was the highest since 2007. In Australia, the most remarkable component of the RBA quarterly bulletin was its view of China property space retaining key economic risks and limited scope of policy response from Beijing, intent on continued deleveraging.

- In Europe, Greece was in the headlines yet again, as local press reported the outflows from the banking system on Wednesday spiked up to €350-400M - 5x higher than previous days' average. Greek Deputy PM said liquidity is becoming a problem just three days after PM Tsipras said the exact opposite, and Athens request for ELA increase of €900M this week was only met with about €400M allotment.

***Equities***
US markets:
- GES: Reports Q4 $0.63 v $0.58e, R$696.7M v $702Me; +12.0% afterhours
- NQ: Reports Q4 $0.03 v $0.04 y/y, R$89.7M v $67.9M y/y; +8.9% afterhours
- SFS: Reports Q4 $0.16 v $0.14 y/y, R$839.3M v $742.8M y/y; +8.4% afterhours
- CTAS: Reports Q3 $0.85 v $0.79e, R$1.11B v $1.11Be; +2.3% afterhours
- JBL: Reports Q2 $0.50 v $0.45e, R$4.31B v $4.27Be; -1.8% afterhours
- WSM: Reports Q4 $1.52 v $1.51e, R$1.54B v $1.57Be; Raises quarterly divdend by 6% to $0.35 (implied yield 1.7%); Guides Q1 $0.40-0.45 v $0.54e, R$990M-1.01B v $1.03Be; -3.2% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Beijing Orient Landscape 002310.CN +4.3% (awarded major order); Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding 322.HK +2.8% (to produce Starbucks ready to drink products in China); Myer Holdings MYR.AU -9.3% (H1 results); Tsuruha Holdings 3391.JP +4.8% (9-month results)
- Technology: Gree Electric Appliances 000651.CN +2.8% (plans to launch mobile phones); Tencent Holdings 700.HK +1.4% (Q4 results); Nintendo 7974.JP +11.7% (momentum continues after partnership with DeNA); Sharp Corp 6753.JP +1.7% (speculation on job cut)
- Healthcare: Sigma Pharmaceuticals SIP.AU +3.8% (FY14/15 results)
- Utilities: Sinohydro Group 601669.CN +7.1% (Jan-Feb op results)

FT : Fed drops pledge to be ‘patient’ on rate rises


Fed drops pledge to be ‘patient’ on rate rises

The Federal Reserve has dropped its pledge to be “patient” before raising interest rates, freeing its hand to lift official borrowing costs for the first time in nearly a decade.
The US central bank left its target range for short-term rates at zero to a quarter per cent today, adding that it did not expect to pull the trigger on rate rises as soon as April, but opening up its options from June onward.

However, it also reduced its forecasts for growth and inflation and projections of interest rates, suggesting the Fed may wait longer than June — the first date available for a hike.
In a statement, the Federal Open Market Committee said it anticipated lifting rates when it had seen further improvement in the labour market and was “reasonably confident” that inflation would move back to its 2 per cent target over the medium term. This new language did not mean the committee has made up its mind when to raise rates, however, the statement added.
The biggest market reaction was seen in US equities, where the broad S&P 500 index erased losses to rise 1.1 per cent. Investors bought up US Treasuries, pushing yields on the benchmark 10-year note 6 basis points lower and back below 2 per cent.
The dollar weakened, with the euro jumping as much as 1 per cent against the US dollar to trade at $1.068.
The decision came in the most hotly anticipated Fed meeting since Janet Yellen took the chair of the central bank more than a year ago. The dollar has been trading at multiyear highs against a range of currencies, partly in anticipation of higher borrowing costs in the US following over six years of near-zero rates, but also as some two dozen other central banks have eased policy this year.
These gains have sparked concerns that the US economic growth outlook could be dented as exports sag, and that the Fed’s inflation expectations could be shaved back. The International Monetary Fund’s Christine Lagarde warned that rate rises could trigger instability in emerging markets, while one prominent hedge fund manager, Ray Dalio, warned of the risk of a 1937-style stock market slump when it finally raises rates
In a press conference after the statement, Ms Yellen said the change in language did not mean the Fed had become “impatient” about raising rates.
The statement did not mention the dollar explicitly, but Fed rate-setters reduced their growth and inflation outlook, as well as their expectations for the pace at which rates will be hiked in the coming years, perhaps reflecting that dollar influence. They also reduced their estimates for unemployment as job growth continues to defy analyst expectations.
The FOMC also noted that export growth had “weakened”, in an implicit acknowledgment of the dollar’s influence.
Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG said: “The FOMC is looking for ‘further’ improvement, meaning the economy and labour market has not yet met whatever criteria necessary to warrant a rate hike. We remain of the belief the Fed will first raise rates in September and view this statement, and the projection changes, as reducing the odds of a June hike.”
Ms Yellen on February 24 paved the way for the “patience” pledge to be ditched, as she sought to give the Federal Open Market Committee a freer hand to change rates when it saw fit. The promise committed the FOMC to holding rates unchanged for at least two meetings. This would have ruled out hikes in June if it had been reiterated today.

In new projections, FOMC members reduced their growth outlooks for 2015, 2016 and 2017, with the central tendency for 2015 reduced to 2.3-2.7 per cent from 2.6-3 per cent.
Countering that was a reduction in the unemployment rate, which is now seen at 5-5.2 per cent this year, down from 5.2-5.3 per cent, and to 4.9-5.1 per cent in 2016 from 5-5.2 per cent.
The FOMC’s estimate that the longer-run normal rate of unemployment is now 5-5.2 per cent, lower than previously estimated, and suggesting there may be more slack in the labour market than previously believed. That could give the FOMC scope for a shallower path of monetary tightening.
Its outlook for core inflation was reduced to 1.3-1.4 per cent this year, from 1.5-1.8 per cent previously, and to 1.5-1.9 per cent for 2016 from 1.7-2 per cent previously. However the view for 2017 was left unchanged at 1.8-2 per cent, suggesting the FOMC still sees the low inflation readings as transitory.
Alongside growth forecasts that shaved back the FOMC’s outlook, Fed rate-setters set out their projections for the central bank’s key rate until 2017.
These showed median expectations for the end of 2015, 2016 and 2017 being cut. The outlook for 2015 was reduced to 0.625 per cent from 1.125 per cent in December, and to 1.875 per cent for 2016, lower than the 2.5 per cent prior median. The outlook for 2017 was for rates of 3.125 per cent. That remains well above measures of market expectations, which suggest the federal funds rate will only hit 2 per cent in 2017. The projection for the longer-run rate remained at 3.75 per cent.

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Jack Armstrong 1 minute ago
Pent-up demand from the bad weather across the US is going to light up retail soon, my opinion. And after the last, fantastic 300k jobs report, GDP is going to be revised upward.
Coming soon: a modest rate increase. The Fed will put its toes in the water and see what it feels like.

RecommendReply
XRayD 3 minutes ago
Bank robbers entered a bank shouting: "Don't move! The money belongs to the bank."
After the theft the younger robber said to the older: "Hey, maybe we should count how much we stole." The older man replied: "Don’t be stupid. It's a lot of money so let's wait for the news to be told how much money was taken from the bank."
Meanwhile, at the bank the manager said to the accountant: "Let's call the cops." The accountant replied: "Wait, before we do that let's add the $800,000 to the robbery of that we took to ourselves a few months ago and just say that it was stolen."
The following day it was reported in the news that the bank was robbed in of $ 3 million. The robbers counted the money, but they found only $1 million so they started to grumble. "We risked our lives for $1 million, while the bank's management robbed two million dollars without blinking? Maybe its better to learn how to work the system, instead of being a simple robber."
Moral :Give a person a gun, and he can rob a bank . Give a person a bank, and he can rob everyone.

Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L)

Growth injection – upgrading to OW
Supercharge compresses growth into the equity story and powers sales and EBIT, while the strategic optionality in Consumer Health could drive a step-change in RB's growth. With one of the best risk-rewards in Staples, we move OW.
What's Changed?

Risk-reward appeal, top pick in HPC: The launch of the Supercharge cost saving program and the strategic optionality we see give Reckitt Benckiser (RB) one of the most attractive risk-rewards in the sector, in our opinion. We are now more confident about Supercharge's delivery and raise our EPS estimates by ~3-4% from 2015, which takes 2015-17 CAGR to 8%+ and puts us ~5% ahead of consensus in 2015-16. In this report we examine hypothetical portfolio changes that RB could make, which we capture in our Bull case.

Supercharge – an engine of sales and EBIT growth to 2017. The market underestimates the potential for Supercharge to drive both top-line and EBIT growth from 2015, we argue. The program's focus on new sources of efficiency gains in SG&A gives us confidence that RB can deliver the targeted savings from 2015, driving superior EBIT margin progression. We expect the organisational streamlining that Supercharge entails to boost top-line growth (~5% ongoing) as RB better leverages scale with larger, more rapid innovation.

Strategic optionality – reshaping the portfolio towards Health. RB's shift towards Consumer Health has the potential to generate a step-change in its growth and margin profile, making it a standout growth story in Staples and returning it to the premium it used to enjoy when growing at the top end of its peer group (our Bull case of 7,400p). A scenario we examine here is if RB were to extend the process of portfolio reshaping to include the disposal of all or part of its Home division. In such a case, we think the total value could be £4.7-5.4 billion. If this were accompanied by acquisitions of £5bn in Consumer Health, it could take group structural growth from ~5% to 6-7%, with low teens EPS growth, our analysis suggests.

Attractive entry point, re-rating potential: With the HPC sector having seen a significant re-rating, RB's recent relative underperformance creates an attractive entry point ahead of strong earnings delivery in 2015 and 2016, we think. At ~23x 2015e PE, valuation is at the upper-end of its historical range but upside earnings surprises should drive upside.

>>>Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: China property prices slide again; USD listless ahead of key Fed decision


***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA FEB NEW HOME PRICES M/M: FALL IN 66 OUT OF 70 CITIES VS 64 PRIOR; Y/Y: FALL IN 69 CITIES V 69 PRIOR
- (JP) JAPAN FEB MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE: -¥425B (smallest deficit in 2 years) V -¥987BE; ADJ TRADE BALANCE: -¥639B V -¥1.2TE
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: 0.3% V 0.1% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE (NZ$): -3.2B V -3.1BE
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA FEB UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 3.9% V 3.4%E
- (SL) SRI LANKA LEAVES REVERSE REPO RATE UNCHANGED AT 8.00% (EXPECTED); LEAVES REPURCHASE RATE UNCHANGED AT 6.50% (EXPECTED)

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.1%, S&P/ASX -0.6%, Kospi +0.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.7%, Hang Seng +0.9%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,066

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold +0.2% at $1,150, Apr crude oil +0.2% at $42.58/brl
- (NZ) Fonterra Global Dairy Trade auction: Dairy Trade price index -8.8% (first decline in 7 auctions) from prior auction v +1.1% prior
- (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: +10.5M (largest build in 4 weeks) v +4Me, GASOLINE: -0.58M v -1Me, DISTILLATE: -0.25M v -0.5Me
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 2.7 tonnes to 748.0 tonnes; Lowest since Jan 26th
- JGB: (JP) Japan's MoF sells ¥1.09T in 1.2% (1.2% prior) 20-year JGBs; Avg yield: 1.199% v 1.274% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.42x v 3.51x prior
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 4.25% bonds due 2026; Avg yield: 2.5432%; Bid-to-cover: 3.86x
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1556 v 6.1585 prior setting (strongest yuan setting since Mar 6th)

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- China indices are leading Asia trade yet again, with particular strength observed among the property developers on expectation of more govt intervention. China property price average in the top 70 cities fell for the 10th consecutive month sequentially, and y/y decline accelerated to -5.7% from -5.1%. Top-tier Beijing and Shanghai markets were not immune to the February slowdown, falling by 3.6% and 4.7% respectively. Stats Bureau has once again hid behind the holiday seasonality in explaining away the decline, forecasting a significant rebound in March.

- All eyes are on the FOMC policy statement in the US on Wednesday, with much of the focus falling on whether the statement will take out the "patient" language as forecasted by Fed watcher Hilsenrath. USD majors are particularly quiet before tomorrow's storm - EUR/USD is trading about 10pips on either side of $1.06 mark, USD/JPY is in a 15pip range below 121.40, and AUD/USD in a 20pip range below 0.7630. NZD fell nearly 100pips during the US session, accentuated by loss following the first decline in Fonterra auction price in 4 months, but remains supported above 0.73 in Asia. Also of note in New Zealand, Q4 current account registered a slightly wider than expected current account deficit ahead of tomorrow's GDP report.

- In Japan, a number of automakers largely confirmed press speculation related to their spring wage negotiations - Toyota raises monthly base pay by ¥4K, Nissan by ¥5K, and Mitsubishi Motors by ¥2K - well below its union's request of ¥6K/month. Sony revised its Q3 higher and traded up 5%, while Nintendo was in bid-only mode up 20% on partnership with DeNA in mobile gaming. Japan trade data finally showed some improvement, posting its smallest headline deficit in 2 years on much higher than expected exports and surprise decline in imports. Shipments to China fell 14%, but those to US were up 14% and Europe up 2%.

***Equities***
US markets:
- VRML: Unit entered into three agreements with Quest Diagnostics - filing; +35.8% afterhours
- ZQK: Reports Q1 -$0.11 v -$0.13 y/y, R$341M v $337Me; +16.5% afterhours
- WIX: Guides Q1 higher R$44-45M v $44Me (prior $43-44M); EBITDA -$1M to -$2M v -$4 to -$3M prior; +10.1% afterhours
- HLF: Los Angeles Federal Judge: Herbalife wins dismissal of shareholders' pyramid scheme suit; +3.7% afterhours
- ORCL: Reports Q3 $0.68 (adj) v $0.68e, R$9.33B v $9.45Be; Raises quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15/shr; +1.7% afterhours
- STLD: Guides Q1 $0.12-0.16 v $0.24e; -3.1% afterhours
- ADBE: Reports Q1 $0.44 v $0.39e, R$1.11B v $1.08Be; -3.8% afterhours
- NKTR: Etirinotecan Pegol (NKTR-102) Prolonged Median Overall Survival by 2.1 Months versus Active Control in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer in Phase 3 Study; Trial Did Not Achieve Statistical Significance; -16.8% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Zensho Holdings 7550.JP +1.8% (sells asset)
- Financials: China Aoyuan Property Group 3883.HK +2.3% (FY14 results); Ping An Insurance 601318.CN +1.5% (restructure of Lufax); China Vanke 000002.CN +2.0%, Poly Real Estate 600048.CN +3.9%, China Merchants Property 000024.CN +3.3% (China Feb home prices)
- Materials: Wuhan Iron & Steel 600005.CN +3.4%, Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel 600581.CN +10.1% (comments on M&A activities in steel industry); Fortescue FMG.AU -7.1% (scraps plan of notes offering, citing unmet cost objectives)
- Energy: Huaneng Renewable Corp 958.HK +3.8% (FY14 results)
- Industrials: Boral Ltd BLD.AU +1.0% (plans buyback)
- Technology: Nintendo 7974.JP +21% (to sell shares to DeNA; to design mobile games with DeNA); Sony 6758.JP +5.3% (revises Q3 results)

>>>US_Summary RXDX +26.3%, FRSH +18.4%, ORCL +1.7%, FPRX

After Hours Summary: RXDX +26.3%, FRSH +18.4%, ORCL +1.7%, FPRX -7.2%, ADBE -4% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: RXDX +26.3%, FRSH +18.4%, ZQK +17.7%, WIX +9.3%, AEZS +7.4%, ENTL +4.2%, BONE +3.5%, CPXX +2.9%, ORCL +1.7%, NVGS +1.6%, MCUR +0.8%, WG +0.7%, EVOL +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: VRML +30.1% (entered into three agreements with Quest Diagnostics (DGX): a global settlement agreement and mutual release, a testing and services agreement, and a non-exclusive license agreement), RXDX +26.3% (co and Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) announced acquisition by Ignyta of four oncology R&D assets from Teva in exchange for 1.5 mln shares (6%) of Ignyta's common stock; RXDX also reported earnings), AKRX +5.5% (announced filing of 10-K for year ended December 31, 2014; in addition to second and third quarter 2014 financial statements), NETE +5.2% (co confirmed it will acquire PayOnline),  HLF +4.5% (seeing reports that co has received a favorable court ruling), CIM +1.6% (announced that the Board has approved a reverse stock split of Chimera's outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of 1-for-5; increased quarterly dividend to $0.096/share from $0.09/share), 

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: FPRX -7.2%, ADBE -4%, OXGN -2.9%, EKSO -1.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: NKTR -15.0% (announced Phase 3 BEACON study evaluating single-agent NKTR-102 in patients with advanced breast cancer did not meet its primary and secondary endpoints), ANTH -8.0% (announced proposed public offering of common stock; size and price details not disclosed), RSPP -4.0% (announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering of 5 mln shares of its common stock by the Company and 4 mln shares of its common stock by certain selling stockholders), ESPR -3.0% (announced $150 mln offering of common stock), APP -2.6% (filed to delay FY14 Form 10-K due to ongoing discussions with Standard General regarding revolving credit facility), ESI -2.5% (filed to delay FY14 Form 10-K), BBX -2.1% (issued statement Regarding BFC Financial Corporation announcement of cash tender offer for shares of BBX Capital Class A Common Stock; Special Committee expects to retain a financial advisor and has retained Hogan Lovells US LLP as its legal advisor), CRR -1.6% (cut quarterly dividend by 70% to $0.10/share from $0.33/share) 

>>> US Close Dow-0,71% S&P-0,33% Nasdaq+0,16% Russell+0,20%

Closing Market Summary: Stocks End Mixed Ahead of FOMC Statement

The stock market ended the Tuesday session on a mixed note ahead of Wednesday's release of the latest policy directive from the Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2% while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.

Equity indices endured some selling in the early going, but the Nasdaq spent the day ahead of the broader market thanks to relative strength in the technology sector (+0.1%). Specifically, shares of Apple (AAPL 127.04, +2.09) climbed 1.7%, which underpinned the sector and the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, most large cap components struggled, which was also the case with high-beta chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 0.7%. That being said, the daylong strength within the technology sector helped the broader market erase the bulk of its early decline.

The Nasdaq received another measure of support from biotechnology with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 356.25, +2.28) climbing 0.6% to a new record. However, the health care sector (-0.3%) could not turn positive.

Similarly, another influential sector—industrials (-0.4%)—ended in the red even though transport stocks displayed relative strength with the Dow Jones Transportation Average ending just below its flat line. The broader sector could not follow suit as the largest component—General Electric (GE 25.31, -0.14)—lost 0.6%.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, energy (-0.5%) settled among the laggards as crude oil faced continued pressure. The energy component fell 1.2% to $43.15/bbl after marking a session low at $42.75/bbl this morning. Crude oil endured a volatile day and made a brief appearance in the green while the Dollar Index (99.66, +0.06) spent the session near its unchanged level. However, the Dollar Index is likely to be active tomorrow when investors respond to the FOMC policy statement.

The main point of focus will be whether the Fed decides to keep its reference to remaining "patient" ahead of the first rate hike. In a recent appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that removing the call for patience would open the door to a potential rate hike at any policy meeting that follows.

Treasuries held solid gains in the morning, but the 10-yr note cut its gain in half, sending the benchmark yield lower by two basis points to 2.06%.

Today's participation was below average with roughly 700 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to February housing starts, which declined 17.0% to 897,000 from an upwardly revised 1.081 million (from 1.065 million) while the consensus expected a decline to 1.041 million. Record snowfall in the Northeast and extreme cold in the Midwest likely played a large part in curtailing new construction. Housing starts in these regions declined 45.0% in February, from 262,000 in January to 144,000. Those regions accounted for 64.0% of the entire February decline in housing starts.

Still, the weather can't be completely at fault. Poor underlying economic conditions likely caused some of the February pullback. For example, in the West region, warmer-than-normal temperatures should have helped offset some of the decline from the East, but that did not happen. Starts fell 18.2% to 239,000 in February from 292,000.

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest policy statement at 14:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite +4.3% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +3.2% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +0.7% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.2% YTD