Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures currently trade 11 points below fair value. 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region bounced on Tuesday with South Korea's Kospi (+5.4%) reclaiming the bulk of its loss from Monday. China reported a smaller-than-expected trade surplus for February, though exports jumped 39.6% yr/yr. Exports to the U.S. were down almost 17% while exports to the EU and Southeast Asia grew 20%. Japan's final GDP report for Q4 beat expectations with help from strong business spending while South Korea's GDP contracted in Q4.

• In economic data:
  • China's February trade surplus $90.98 bln (expected surplus of $177.4 bln; last surplus of $114.1 bln). February Imports 13.8% yr/yr (expected 6.3%; last 5.7%) and Exports 39.6% yr/yr (expected 7.1%; last 6.6%)
  • Japan's Q4 GDP 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.1%; last -0.6%); 1.3% yr/yr (expected 0.2%; last -2.3%). Q4 GDP Price Index 3.4% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.4%). January Household Spending -2.5% m/m (expected 0.8%; last -2.2%); -1.0% yr/yr (expected 2.4%; last -2.6%). February Machine Tool Orders 24.2% yr/yr (expected 25.3%; last 10.6%)
  • South Korea's Q1 GDP -0.2% qtr/qtr (expected -0.3%; last 1.3%); 1.6% yr/yr (expected 1.7%; last 1.8%)
  • Australia's Westpac Consumer Sentiment 1.2% m/m (last -2.6%) February NAB Business Confidence -1 (last 4) and February NAB Business Survey 7 (last 7). January Building Approvals -7.2% m/m, as expected (last -14.9%); -15.7% yr/yr (expected 8.1%; last 0.4%). January Private House Approvals 1.1% m/m, as expected (last 0.4%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: +2.9%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +2.2%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.7%
• India's Sensex: +0.8%
• South Korea's Kospi: +5.4%
• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +1.1%

Major European indices trade in the green, recovering some of their recent losses with help from a pullback in the price of oil. G7 officials will hold another call today, looking to agree on a coordinated oil reserve release. British homebuilder Persimmon issued upbeat deliveries guidance for the year while Renault announced its updated margin targets. Volkswagen missed Q4 expectations and announced job cuts. European Central Bank policymaker Muller said that the likelihood of a rate hike has increased, but there is no need to rush to a decision.

• In economic data:
  • Germany's January trade surplus EUR21.2 bln (expected surplus of EUR15.4 bln; last surplus of EUR17.4 bln). January Imports -5.9% m/m (last 1.3%) and Exports -2.3% m/m (last 3.9%)
  • France's January trade deficit EUR1.8 bln (expected deficit of EUR5.2 bln; last deficit of EUR4.3 bln). January Current Account surplus EUR2.1 bln (last surplus of EUR100 mln)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: +1.8%
• Germany's DAX: +2.2%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: +1.5%
• France's CAC 40: +1.6%
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +2.3%
• Spain's IBEX 35: +2.3%