Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are down 11 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 35 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 98 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.

There's not a lot of movement in contracts tied to the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow industrials. Participants are digesting the latest earnings news, which was mixed.

Bank of America (BAC) and PNC (PNC) are higher ahead of the open after reporting above-consensus results. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares are lower in pre-open trading after above-consensus earnings and raising its dividend from $1.24/share to $1.30/share.

The 10-yr yield is up two basis points to 4.38% and the 2-yr yield is up one basis point to 3.84%.

Today's calendar features Import and Export Prices for March, along with the Empire State Manufacturing Index for April, at 8:30 ET.

In corporate news:

• Bank of America (BAC 37.48, +0.81, +2.2%): beats by $0.08, beats on revs
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 153.00, -1.36, -0.9%): beats by $0.19, beats on revs; reaffirms FY25 EPS guidance, guides FY25 revs above consensus; announces that its Board of Directors has declared a 4.8% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $1.24/share to $1.30/share
• PNC (PNC 156.02, +0.70, +0.5%): beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 revs below consensus; reaffirms FY25 revs guidance
• Netflix (NFLX 950.50, +19.22, +2.1%): aims to double revs by 2030 and achieve a $1 trillion market cap, according to WSJ
• Boeing (BA 154.40, -4.88, -3.1%): China orders that airlines stop accepting Boeing deliveries in response to trade tensions, according to Bloomberg 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a higher note, drawing continued support from the brief reciprocal tariff reprieve on some items. Japan's Nikkei: +0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.2%, India's Sensex: +2.1%, South Korea's Kospi: +0.9%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.1%.
  • In economic data:
    • South Korea's February M2 Money Supply 5.6% (last 5.7%)
    • India's March WPI Inflation 2.05% yr/yr (expected 2.50%; last 2.38%) and March CPI 3.34% yr/yr (expected 3.60%; last 3.61%). March trade deficit $21.54 bln (last deficit of $14.05 bln)
    • New Zealand's March FPI 0.5% m/m (last -0.5%)
  • In news:
    • Automakers were among the outperformers in Japan and South Korea.
    • There was ongoing speculation that the People's Bank of China will step in to support markets in some way.
    • UBS lowered its forecast for China's 2025 GDP to 3.4% from 4.0%.
    • The Reserve Bank of Australia released its March Minutes, showing an agreement that it was premature to cut at that meeting, but the likelihood of a cut in May is now on the rise.
• Major European indices trade in the green. STOXX Europe 600: +1.0%, Germany's DAX: +1.2%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.8%, France's CAC 40: +0.3%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +1.7%, Spain's IBEX 35: +1.4%.
  • In economic data:
    • Eurozone's February Industrial Production 1.1% m/m (expected 0.1%; last 0.6%); 1.2% yr/yr (expected -0.8%; last -0.5%). April ZEW Economic Sentiment -18.5 (expected 13.2; last 39.8)
    • Germany's March WPI -0.2% m/m (expected 0.2%; last 0.6%); 1.3% yr/yr (last 1.6%). April ZEW Economic Sentiment -14.0 (expected 10.6; last 51.6) and ZEW Current Conditions -81.2 (expected -86.0; last -87.6)
    • U.K.'s February Average Earnings Index + Bonus 5.6% yr/yr (expected 5.7%; last 5.6%). February three-month employment change 206,000 (last 144,000), and February Unemployment Rate 4.4%, as expected (last 4.4%).
    • March Claimant Count Change 18,700 (expected 30,300; last 16,500)
    • France's final March CPI 0.2% m/m, as expected (last 0.0%); 0.8% yr/yr, as expected (last 0.8%)
  • In news:
    • Markets found support in comments from President Trump suggesting potential tariff adjustments for the auto sector, boosting carmaker shares like Volkswagen and Stellantis. However, this optimism was tempered by a significant plunge in German investor confidence, as the ZEW economic sentiment fell to -14.0 from 51.6, which ZEW President Achim Wambach linked to "erratic changes in the US trade policy" causing "massive global uncertainty."
    • The nascent earnings season also brought caution, with luxury group LVMH falling notably after reporting disappointing sales, impacting peers and underscoring analyst warnings about trade risks and the strong euro hitting corporate results.
    • The latest ECB bank lending survey indicated banks slightly tightened credit access for businesses in the first quarter, citing heightened economic risks.