Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a higher opening this morning as several mega-cap tech names make nice moves higher in the premarket. Solid mega-cap performance helped the major averages eke out slight gains yesterday despite a choppy session of mixed strength. 

While tech finished modestly higher, software names remained under pressure amid fears of AI disruption. 

Earnings are still in full swing, generating notable stock-specific moves both yesterday and this morning. 

The market also has quite a few economic data releases to look forward to this morning, including December housing starts (Briefing.com consensus 1320K) and building permits (Briefing.com consensus 1412K), January Industrial Production (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) and Capacity Utilization (Briefing.com consensus 76.5%), and the January FOMC meeting minutes. 

The MBA Mortgage Applications Index for the week ended February 14 increased 2.8%, from a prior decrease of 0.3%. 

In corporate news:

• JPMorgan Chase (JPM 308.00, +0.87, +0.3%) aims to open 160 branches across dozens of states, according to Financial Times. 
• NVIDIA (NVDA 188.53, +3.56, +1.9%) and Meta Platforms (META 638.51, -0.78, -0.1%) expanded thier chip partnership for Meta's AI buildout, according to CNBC.
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW 151.39, -12.11, -7.4% beat EPS estimates by $0.09, reported revenues in-line, guidesd Q3 EPS below consensus with revenues above consensus; guided FY26 EPS below consensus with revenues above consensus.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Wednesday on a mostly higher note while markets in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea remained closed for Lunar New Year. Japan's Nikkei: +1.0%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: CLOSED, China's Shanghai Composite: CLOSED, India's Sensex: +0.3%, South Korea's Kospi: CLOSED, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.6%.

In news:

• Japan's January trade balance showed strong export growth with exports to the EU and China making up for lower exports to the U.S. Japan's trade minister announced that $36 bln will be invested into three projects in the U.S. as part of the trade deal.
• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its official cash rate at 2.25%, as expected.
• The central bank's forward guidance left the door open for a rate hike by the end of the year.

In economic data:

• Japan's January trade surplus JPY460 bln (expected deficit of JPY180 bln; last deficit of JPY60 bln). January Imports -2.5% yr/yr (expected 3.0%; last 5.2%) and Exports 16.8% yr/yr (expected 12.0%; last 5.1%)
• Australia's January MI Leading Index -0.1% m/m (last 0.1%). Q4 Wage Price Index 0.8% qtr/qtr, as expected (last 0.8%); 3.4% yr/yr (last 3.3%)
• New Zealand's Q4 Input PPI -0.5% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; last 0.2%); 0.1% qtr/qtr (expected 0.6%; last 0.6%)

Major European indices trade in the green. STOXX Europe 600: +0.9%, Germany's DAX: +0.8%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +1.0%, France's CAC 40: +0.5%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +1.2%, Spain's IBEX 35: +1.1%.

In news: 

• British inflation decelerated notably in January, increasing expectations for a March rate cut from the Bank of England.
• European Central Bank President Lagarde is reportedly planning to leave her post before the French presidential election in early 2027, though her term as ECB president does not end until October 2027.
• European Central Bank policymaker Villeroy de Galhau said that French growth is expected to exceed 1.0% this year, adding that the ECB has won the battle against inflation.

In economic data:

• U.K.'s January CPI -0.5% m/m, as expected (last 0.4%); 3.0% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.4%). January Core CPI -0.6% m/m (expected -0.7%; last 0.3%); 3.1% yr/yr (expected 3.0%; last 3.2%). January Input PPI 0.4% m/m, as expected (last -0.5%) and Output PPI 0.0% m/m (expected 0.2%; last -0.1%). January House Price Index 2.4% yr/yr (expected 1.8%; last 2.5%)
• France's January CPI -0.3% m/m, as expected (last 0.1%); 0.3% yr/yr, as expected (last 0.8%)