Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 43 points and are trading 0.8% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 181 points and are trading 0.9% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 214 points and are trading 0.6% above fair value.

There's a positive bias in early trading ahead of the February Consumer Price Index report at 8:30 ET. Participants expect inflation to cool a little in February after an unexpected increase in January.  

Treasury yields are little changed in front of the report. The 10-yr yield is up one basis point to 4.30% and the 2-yr yield is up two basis points to 3.97%.

The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index rose 11.2%. 

In corporate news:

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 172.84, +1.87, +1.1%): discussed joint foundry project with Intel, NVIDIA, and Broadcom, according to Reuters
• Casey's General (CASY 391.00, +12.29, +3.3%): beats by $0.33, beats on revs; Guides for FY25 EBITDA to increase approximately 11%
• Uber (UBER 71.70, +1.05, +1.5%): ends acquisition agreement of Delivery Hero’s Taiwan foodpanda business; follows the decisions of local regulatory authorities, including the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission, not to approve the deal, and the expiration of the relevant appeal period

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mostly lower note. Japan's Nikkei: +0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -0.8%, China's Shanghai Composite: -0.2%, India's Sensex: -0.1%, South Korea's Kospi: +1.5%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -1.2%.
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's February PPI 0.0% m/m (expected -0.1%; last 0.3%); 4.0% yr/yr, as expected (last 4.2%). Q1 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions -2.4 (expected 6.5; last 6.3)
    • South Korea's February Unemployment Rate 2.7% (last 2.9%)
    • India's February CPI 3.61% yr/yr (expected 4.00%; last 4.31%). January Industrial Production 5.0% yr/yr (expected 3.5%; last 3.2%) and Manufacturing Output 5.5% m/m (last 3.0%)
    • New Zealand's February Electronic Card Retail Sales 0.3% m/m (last -1.6%); -4.2% yr/yr (last -0.5%)
  • In news:
    • Toyota will grant its employees their full wage hike demand, making for the fourth year in a row that the company matched demands.
    • The U.S. ruled out an exemption from tariffs for Australian steel and aluminum, but Australia is not seeking to impose retaliatory tariffs at this time.
• Major European indices trade on a mostly higher note. STOXX Europe 600: +1.1%, Germany's DAX: +1.9%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.7%, France's CAC 40: +1.4%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +1.6%, Spain's IBEX 35: UNCH.
  • In economic data:
    • Spain's January Retail Sales 2.2% yr/yr (last 4.0%)
  • In news:
    • The European Commission announced the launch of countermeasures to U.S. import tariffs, including the potential implementation of duties on up to EUR26 bln worth of imports.
    • Athletic apparel manufacturer Puma and automaker Porsche issued weak guidance.
    • Portugal is headed for an early election after the country's government lost a confidence vote.