Growth prospects out of China are causing the bulls here in the states to take a breather. Dow futures are down 68 points to 13,099. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 12.75 to 2,715. The S&P 500 futures are rounding out the red start, down 8.50 points to 1,395.
The economic data calendar is fairly stacked this morning with February housing starts up first. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to give the first of four lectures at 12:45pm EST. The first will be at the George Washington School of Business.
Housing start data this AM was a mixed bag. While starts fell slightly, permits jumped 5.1%. The sector is still lagging the rest of the recovery and at this point you have the question the robustness of such recovery. Maybe it could stand a permit for a new foundation, because it looks awfully shaky.
Fears of a slowdown in China were exacerbated overnight when Ian Ashby, CEO of BHP’s Iron-Ore Division, told Australian reporters that demand from China is waning in the commodity sector. If that pattern holds it could signal a downturn in China.
More bad news from China came when they decided o raise the price of retail gasoline. This was the second time this year they raised both gasoline and diesel prices. The move is weighing heavily on auto stocks this morning.
Commodity prices are also taking a hit on the anemic economic news. Gold prices are down over $23 to $1644. Nymex crude futures are off a dollar to $107 per barrel.
Stocks to watch today include Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF), Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:KORS), Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF), Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRGT), Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO), Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA).
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) is up 3.38% in pre market trading at $71.00. Tiffany stock is trading higher this morning after the company forecasts higher fiscal-year results. Tiffany now expects revenue for the fiscal-year to jump 10% with a profit between $3.95 and $4.05 per share. The company has a market cap of 8.72 billion.
Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE:KORS) is up 4.15% in pre market trading at $47.20. KORS trades 1.5 million shares a day on average. Michael Kors reported stronger retail sales and raised its earnings outlook yesterday. The company now expects earnings between $0.14-$0.16 per share versus previous guidance of $0.10-$0.12. Revenue is expected to be between $350 and $360 million. KORS trades 1.5 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 8.66 billion.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:LGF) is up 4.07% in pre market trading at $14.83. Lions Gate enjoyed a rally yesterday and is looking to build on that today as the release of “The Hunger Games” nears. LGF trades 1.4 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 1.80 billion.
Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRGT) has dropped nearly 15% in pre market trading at $6.30. TRGT shares are taking a hit after the company dropped plans to seek drug’s approval. Targacept stock trades 534 thousand shares a day on average and will probably eclipse that mark today. The company has a market cap of 247.46 million.
Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is down more than 6% in pre market trading at $7.78. FRO shares could dip today after the stock has seen a run up of nearly $4 a share just over the past week. FRO trades 2.2 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 644.66 million.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is down 0.44% in pre market trading at $2.2599. SIRI has traded close to 80 thousand shares this morning and trades 52.3 million shares a day on average. Sirius stock has been in a slight downtrend for the past week, falling from $2.35 to around $2.25. The company has a market cap of 8.52 billion.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) is down 11.88% in pre market trading at $13.42. ARIA trades about 3 million shares a day on average. ARIA shares have been trading choppy the past week and have been as low as $14.80 and as high as $15.60. The company has a market cap of 2.42 billion.
About Danny Fisher
