If investors were looking for a continuation of winning sessions, the futures are not helping matters. Chinese data coupled with bank earnings are helping drive the market lower in pre-market trading. Dow futures are down 63 points to 12,887. Nasdaq and S&P futures are also negative, down 12 and 7 respectively.
GDP numbers out of China overnight saw the country growing at a 8.1% pace. This was below the consensus expectation of 8.3%. This marked the slowest pace in growth in 11 quarters for the country.
The numbers out of China had a cascading effect on European markets. The EU also had to digest the news that Spain sharply increased its borrowing from the ECB in March.
In earnings news, the banking sector kicked it off this morning with beats. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) reported better than expected earnings. While JPMorgan and Chase (NYSE:JPM) saw profits decline, it was not as bad as predicted by many analysts. This was due in part to their lending arm.
On the economic data calendar several pieces are slated for release this morning. Consumer CPI numbers are first up at 8:30am EST. Then Consumer sentiment numbers are expected at 9:55am EST.
Commodities are following the futures lower this morning. Oil prices are down 32 cents to $103.29 per barrel. Gold prices are also drifting lower, down nearly $9 to $1,671 per ounce.
Stocks to watch today include Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD), Renren Inc. (NYSE:RENN), Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ:INFY), Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), Powerwave Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PWAV) and E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE:DANG).
Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR) is up 13.77% in pre market trading at $69.75. CSTR has traded 27 thousand shares so far this morning and trades 1.4 million shares a day on average. Coinstar shares are up after first quarter sales and profits exceeded its previous forecast. Coinstar said its profit from continuing operations was $1.62 to $1.66 a share according to its preliminary results. The company has a market cap of 1.86 billion.
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SD) is up 1.39% this morning at $7.65. SD has traded about 10 thousand shares in pre market trading and trades 13.9 million shares a day on average. SD shares have jumped $0.60 a share from its intraday low on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of 3.01 billion.
Renren Inc. (NYSE:RENN) is up 1.46% in pre market trading at $6.96. RENN has traded 56 thousand shares so far today and trades 10.2 million shares a day on average. RENN shares are up more than $1 a share over the past week. The company has a market cap of 2.70 billion.
Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ:INFY) is down 13% in pre market trading at $49.40. INFY is trading heavy volume already this morning with 247 thousand shares traded. The stock typically trades 1.7 million shares a day on average. INFY shares are down after the company issued a slower outlook and said the year ahead looks challenging for IT services industry. The company has a market cap of 32.44 billion.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is down 2.60% in pre market trading at $4.12. NOK has traded 603 thousand shares this morning and trades 35.2 million shares a day on average. NOK shares continue to fall as reports of a software glitch in its newest phone cause the company to credit $100 to customers who bought the Lumia 900. The company has a market cap of 15.69 billion.
Powerwave Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PWAV) is down 26.98% in pre market trading at $1.57. PWAV has traded 11 thousand shares this morning and trades 1.3 million share a day on average. Powerwave announced yesterday it anticipates revenue for its first quarter will be between $40 to $45 million. The company also said it continues to “encounter weakness in several of its markets, as network operators continued to be conservative in their spending plans and several markets continued to delay capital spending plans.” The company has a market cap of 71.74 million.
E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE:DANG) is down 3.46% today at $9.76. DANG has traded 41 thousand shares this morning and trades 3.5 million shares a day on average. DANG shares have fallen close to a $1 in the past four days. The company has a market cap of 831.91 million.
About Martin Stephenson
