Markets: News  

S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.50. U.S. equity futures trade on a modestly higher note with futures on the S&P 500 hovering six points above fair value. The stock market narrowed this week's loss on Wednesday and the early indication suggests that the rebound effort will continue today. The Nasdaq outperformed yesterday, but Nasdaq futures are a bit behind today. Overnight action saw gains in most Asian markets while European equities are mostly flat. Domestically, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump but Senate Majority Leader McConnell said that a trial in the Senate will not begin until after President-elect Biden is sworn in. On a separate note, CNN reported that the new administration will be seeking to spend $2 trln. U.S. Treasuries show modest losses with the 10-yr yield rising two basis points to 1.11%. The U.S. Dollar Index is little changed at 90.34. WTI crude is down $0.19, or 0.4%, at $52.72/bbl. Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 780,000; prior 787,000), Continuing Claims (prior 5.072 mln), December Import Prices (prior 0.1%), Export Prices (prior 0.6%), Import Prices ex-oil (prior -0.3%), and Export Prices ex-agriculture (prior 0.3%) will be reported at 8:30 ET. In U.S. corporate news: Intel (INTC 58.38, +1.43, +2.5%): rising after upgrades from Cowen, Morgan Stanley, BMO Capital Markets, and Atlantic Equities. BlackRock (BLK 790.60, +10.85, +1.4%): reported better than expected earnings and revenue for Q4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM 121.81, +2.58, +2.2%): reported better than expected results for Q4 and issued above-consensus revenue guidance for Q1. Delta Air Lines (DAL 40.96, +0.51, +1.3%): reported a wider than expected loss on above-consensus revenue for Q4 and issued light revenue guidance for Q1. AeroVironment (AVAV 102.50, +6.33, +6.6%): stock was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird after the company announced the acquisition of Arcturus UAV for $405 mln. AMD (AMD 91.55, -0.23, -0.3%): slipping after BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market Perform with a $75 target. Cowen raised its price target for the stock to $110. Reviewing overnight developments: Asian markets ended mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei +0.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.9%, and China's Shanghai Composite -0.9% In economic data: China's December Trade Balance $78.2 bln (last $75.4 bln); Exports 18.1% yr/yr (expected 15.0%; last 21.1%) and Imports 6.5% (expected 5.0%; last 4.5%); December Vehicle Sales 6.4% yr/yr (last 12.6%) Japan's November Core Machinery Orders 1.5% m/m (expected -6.2%; last 17.1%) and -11.3% yr/yr (expected -15.4%; last 2.8%); December PPI 0.5% m/m (expected 0.2%; last -0.1%) and -1.0% yr/yr (expected -2.2%; last -2.3%) South Korea's December Import Price Index -10.2% yr/yr (last -10.3%) and Export Price Index -5.4% yr/yr (last -4.6%) Australia's November Building Permits 2.6% m/m (expected 2.6%; last 3.8%) India's December WPI Inflation 1.22% yr/yr (expected 1.30%; last 1.55%) In news: Japan PM Suga extended the state of emergency to seven more prefectures, bringing total to 11 prefectures operating under a state of emergency due to COVID The U.S. has reportedly banned tomato and cotton products from Xinjiang due to forced labor concernsEuropean markets are mostly flat. Germany's DAX +0.2%, France's CAC +0.1%, and U.K.'s FTSE +0.5% In economic data: Germany's annual GDP -5.0% (last 0.6%) In news: Italy could head for an early election after Matteo Renzi confirmed that ministers from his party will resign. The news has not led to any notable movement in the BTP-bund spread