Equity Investing Needs Discipline and Patience-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

Discipline and Patience(The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Global Markets & News-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.13%) this morning are trading slightly lower by -0.15% on some nervousness ahead of today's GDP report, but the market is seeing support from overnight rallies in Alphabet and Amazon.com following positive quarterly earnings news for those companies after Thursday's close. The U.S. markets are mainly looking ahead to today's U.S. Q2 GDP report, where the market consensus yesterday fell by about 1/2 point to +2.0% due to the release of additional inventory and trade data.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index is up +0.44% today on support from a rally in banking shares on some positive bank earnings results. Traders are awaiting the release of the European bank stress tests after today's U.S. close at 4PM ET. Eurozone Q2 GDP rose +0.3% q/q and +1.6% y/y, in line with market expectations but down from the Q1 pace of +0.6% q/q. The Eurozone June unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.1%. Eurozone July core inflation was unchanged at +0.9% y/y.

The Nikkei today closed +0.56% after a volatile day of trading on the BOJ's less-than-expected monetary stimulus measures. However, Japanese banks rallied on the news that the BOJ did not cut its policy rate further into negative territory. The Bank of Japan today announced an expansion of its asset purchase program by raising the size of its ETF purchase plan by 2.7 trillion ($26 billion) a year. The BOJ also expanded a dollar-lending facility to $24 billion. However, the BOJ left its policy rate unchanged at -0.10% and left its target unchanged for expanding the monetary base by 80 trillion yen. The BOJ said it will conduct a "comprehensive assessment" of its monetary policy at its next meeting on Sep 20-21. The BOJ said it will not change its goal of achieving a 2% inflation goal at the earliest possible time.

Other Asian stock markets today closed mostly lower: Hong Kong -1.28%, China Shanghai -0.50%, Taiwan -1.02%, Australia +0.10%, Singapore-1.71%, South Korea -0.15%, India -0.56%, Turkey -0.13%.

The Russian central bank today left its key rate unchanged at 10.5%, which was in line with market expectations.

Sep 10-year T-notes (ZNU16 -0.05%) this morning are down -3.5 ticks, undercut by a -0.27 point sell-off in Sep bunds and some disappointment about the BOJ's QE program.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.55%) is down -0.52 points (-0.54%) this morning mainly because of a sharp -1.98 yen (-1.88%) sell-off in USD/JPY (^USDJPY). The yen rallied sharply today after the BOJ disappointed on its limited new monetary stimulus measures. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0037 (+0.33%).

Commodity prices are down -0.53% this morning. Sep WTI crude oil (CLU16 -0.85%) is down by -0.40 (-0.95%) as the rout continues on high inventories and rising U.S. oil production. Sep gasoline (RBU16 -1.35%) is down -0.0154 (-1.18%). Aug gold (GCQ16 +0.05%) is up +0.6 (+0.05%) but Sep silver (SIU16 -0.46%) is down -0.107 (-0.53%) and Sep copper (HGU16 -0.38%) is down -0.011 (-0.48%) as industrial metals were undercut by the BOJ's disappointing stimulus plans. Grains this morning are lower with Dec corn down -2.25 (-0.66%), Nov beans down -8.00 (-0.82%), and Sep wheat down -4.00 (-0.98%). Softs are mixed with Oct sugar up +0.04 (+0.21%), Sep coffee -1.00 (-0.70%), Sep cocoa up +16 (+0.56%), and Dec cotton down-0.98 (-1.34%).The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) Q2 GDP (expected +2.0% q/q annualized, Q1 +1.1%), (2) Q2 employment cost index (expected +0.6%, Q1 +0.6%), (3) San Francisco Fed President John Williams (non-voter) speaks at an event in Cambridge, Massachusetts titled “Policy Dialogue: What’s Left in the Fed’s Toolkit,” (4) Jul Chicago PMI (expected -2.8 to 54.0, Jun +7.5 to 56.8), (5) final-July University of Michigan U.S. consumer sentiment (expected +0.7 to 90.2, prelim-Jul -4.0 to 89.5), (6) Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan speaks at a moderated Q&A at the Independent Bankers Association of New Mexico annual meeting.

There are 18 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: UPS (consensus 1.43), Exxon (0.64), Chevron (0.32), AbbVie (1.20), Merck (0.91).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences this week include: none.

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading slightly lower by -0.15% on some nervousness ahead of today's GDP report, but the market is seeing support from overnight rallies in Alphabet and Amazon.com following positive quarterly earnings news for those companies after Thursday's close. Thursday's closes: S&P 500 +0.16%, Dow Jones -0.09%, Nasdaq +0.30%. The S&P 500 on Thursday closed slightly higher on carry-over support from Wed's FOMC post-meeting statement suggesting that a rate hike is not likely until at least December. Stocks also received a boost from expectations for the BOJ on Friday to announce new monetary stimulus measures. Stocks were undercut by new Census Bureau data that produced a 1/2 point cut in forecasts for Friday's U.S. Q2 GDP report. In addition, petroleum companies saw continued weakness as Sep crude oil fell by another -1.9% to a new 3-month low.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

·     Alphabet (GOOG +0.56%) is up +3% in overnight trading after reporting Q2 adjusted EPS of $8.42 late Thursday, above the consensus of $8.03, on mobile adds and cost controls.

·         Amazon.com (AMZN +2.16%) rallied as much as +4% in after-hours trading yesterday and is up +1.4% this morning after Q3 revenue guidance was stronger than expected.

·         NextEra Energy (NEE) agreed to buy the Oncor Electric Delivery Co. LLC utility unit from Energy Future Holdings in a deal worth $18.4 billion as part of the process of allowing Energy Future Holdings to emerge from bankruptcy.

·         Wynn Resorts (WYNN +2.37%) fell -5% in after-hours trading on disappointment about a 24% drop in Macau betting.

·         Stamps.com (STMP +1.63%) rallied by +5% in after-hours trading after management raised its full-year revenue and EPS guidance.

·         Expedia (EXPE +1.77%) fell -6% in after-hours trading after saying that there was some lost booking time involved in moving Orbitz to its back-end technology platform, causing a Q2 revenue miss.

·         Earnings reports this morning have been mostly positive with reports including UPS (UPS -0.06%) (1.43 vs 1.427), Merck (MRK -0.29%) (0.93 vs 0.91), Tyco (TYC -0.72%) (0.54 vs 0.53), Xerox (XRX -0.90%) (0.30 vs 0.25), Ventas (VTR +1.33%) (1.04 vs 1.034), Phillips 66 (PSX +1.13%) (0.94 vs 0.933). Disappointing reports include Cigna (CI -1.55%) (1.98 vs 2.37) and Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG -0.16%) (0.17 vs 0.58). The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

·          

MARKET COMMENTS

Sep 10-year T-notes this morning are down -3.5 ticks. Thursday's closes: TYU6 +0.5, FVU6 +0.5. Sep 10-year T-notes on Thursday closed slightly higher on carryover support from Wednesday's FOMC post-meeting statement that did not suggest an imminent Fed rate hike. In addition, new Census Bureau data released on Thursday resulted in a 1/2 point cut in expectations for Friday's Q2 GDP report. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The dollar index is down -0.52 points (-0.54%) this morning mainly because of a sharp -1.98 yen (-1.88%) sell-off in USD/JPY. The yen rallied sharply today after the BOJ disappointed on its limited new monetary stimulus measures. EUR/USD is up +0.0037 (+0.33%). Thursday's closes: Dollar index-0.383 (-0.39%), EUR/USD +0.0019 (+0.17%), USD/JPY -0.13 (-0.12%). The dollar index on Thursday closed moderately lower on the market's dovish interpretation of Wednesday's FOMC's post-meeting statement. Meanwhile, USD/JPY closed mildly lower as the market waits to see if the BOJ on Friday will announce aggressive new stimulus measures as expected.

Sep WTI crude oil this morning is down by -0.40 (-0.95%) as the rout continues on high inventories and rising U.S. oil production. Sep gasoline is down-0.0154 (-1.18%). Thursday's closes: CLU6 -0.78 (-1.86%), RBU6 -0.0161 (-1.22%). Sep crude oil and gasoline on Thursday closed lower with Sep crude oil posting another new 3-month low. Crude oil continued to be undercut by Wed's EIA report that showed a +1.67 million bbl rise in U.S. crude oil inventories (vs expectations of -2.5 million bbls) and a +0.2% increase in U.S. oil production to 8.515 million bpd, the third straight weekly gain that now totals +1.0%. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

10,000 NGO registrations cancelled, foreign aid set to drop-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

NGO (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Foreign funding for Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) doubled in 2014-15 over the previous year, but with 10,000 NGO registrations cancelled in 2015, foreign contributions are likely to drop, according the latest data on foreign contributions.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (unified), Karnataka and Kerala together got 65 per cent of foreign aid coming to India, the data, tabled in the Lok Sabha on July 26, 2016, revealed.

Of Rs 45,300 crore ($7 billion) in foreign funding to Indian NGOs over four years -- 2011-12 to 2014-15 -- Rs 29,000 crore($ 4.5 billion) was received by organisations in the national capital and these four (five after Telangana) states, an IndiaSpend analysis reveals.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

Organisations in Delhi received Rs 10,500 crore ($ 1.6 billion), while each of the five states received close to Rs 5,000 crore ($770 million) over the past four years.

There are 33,091 NGOs registered to receive foreign funds-under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) -- after the registrations of 10,000 NGOs were cancelled by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2015.

Among the reasons for cancellation: Not filing returns, misutilisation of funds and accepting funds for “prohibited activities”, which include funding legal costs of bail, writ petitions of Indian NGOs and their activists, and undisclosed payment of salaries by foreign NGOs to foreign activists.

Foreign funding doubled in 2014-15 to Rs 22,137 crore ($ 3.4 billion) compared to Rs 12,000 crore ($ 1.8 billion) in 2013-14.

Foreign funds to Indian NGOs from 165 countries, most for social sector

India receives foreign contributions from 165 countries, of roughly 200 countries identified by the World Bank.

Health, education and child-welfare together received Rs 4,500 crore ($ 690 million) of the Rs 12,000 crore received in 2011-12, according to our analysis of the 2011-12 annual report of the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act, the latest available.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

While NGOs associated with religious activities collected Rs 870 crore, NGOs with research activities got Rs 539 crore in 2011-12.

International NGOs free to fund in India but only to govt

As many as 109 international organisations, including various branches of the United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation and Asian Development Bank, are not treated as a foreign source while funding projects in India.

“The World Bank funding in 2013-14 was $5.2 billion (Rs 33000 crore).This funding goes to the government and not to any NGO,”, wrote Prof. Trilochan Sastry of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an advocacy, in a blog post.

A writ petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court by ADR to constitute an independent body to administer enforcement of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The case is currently being heard. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

India receives normal rainfall-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

Industry and farmers can heave a sigh of relief as India has received rainfall in line with the long period average (LPA) during the period 1 June to 27 July 2016. The month of July has witnessed an overall monsoon surplus up to 8% up to now. There is cheer for the East and Northeast as they received heavy rainfall in the last week. This has led to a reduction in the cumulative rainfall deficit to 12% from 17% one week back in this region. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has continued with the prediction of ‘above normal’ monsoon at 106% of benchmark Long Term Average (LPA). The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

 

Long Term Average (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

In the week up to now, around 30% of the country’s area has got excess rainfall, 50% received normal’ rainfall, while 20% received deficient rainfall. Coming to individual states, major deficit was seen in Gujarat, which has received rainfall which is 50% lesser than long period average (LPA). Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and parts of the North-east also saw deficient rainfall. Deficient rainfall has been defined as rainfall which is 90% less than long term average. Nearly all the districts in Maharashtra have received either excess rains or normal rains. 

Good rainfall in the first two weeks of July aided a pick-up in kharif sowing, with the area sown up by 3.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) as on 22 July as against a 5.9% decline by 8 July. According to a Religare report, a record 9 million hectares were cultivated for kharif pulses by 22 July, which is significantly 39.4% higher as compared to the previous year. The area sown for cereal and oilseeds too rose marginally by 1.7% and 4.3% y-o-y respectively.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Coming to water reservoirs, the Religare report further stated that the levels increased drastically to 38% of the total storage capacity as on 28 July from merely 15.2% in June-end. However, the overall storage position is less than the average storage of the last ten years during the corresponding period. Also, it is less than the corresponding period in the last year. The water levels in Central India are significantly higher as compared to the long term average. However, the water reservoir levels in both North and South India are far lesser as compared to their 10-year average. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions 

Fosun buys majority stake in Gland Pharma for USD 1.4 billion-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

Chinese drug giant Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has bought 86 per cent stake in Gland Pharma for about $1.4 billion.

This is billed as India's largest inbound acquisition in 2016.

Hong Kong-listed Fosun is controlled by billionaire Guo Guangchang while Hyderabad-based Gland Pharma is backed by global private equity firm KKR & Co. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

While Fosun bought 86 per cent stake, the rest will remain with the promoter's family, sources in Gland Pharma said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The deal is likely to be announced officially in a day or two.

Established in 1978, Gland Pharma has seven factories in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, manufacturing a variety of injectables and high quality APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients).

It sells generic injectables, primarily in the US and Europe.

Gland had sales of around Rs 1,300 crore last fiscal, with 30 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Nifty, Sensex overbought, but no sign of weakness yet – Weekly closing report-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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29Th July 2016

Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

I had mentioned in the last week’s closing report that Nifty, Sensex were in a bullish mode still. The major indices of the Indian stock markets were bullish on most trading days of the week and scaled some recent highs. The trends of the major indices in the course of the week are given in the table below:

Short covering, coupled with expectations of major economic legislation getting parliament's approval, buoyed the Indian equity markets on Monday. The benchmark indices closed the day's trade with substantial gains as healthy buying was witnessed in banking, automobile and consumer durables stocks. On the NSE, there were 1,001 advances, 469 declines and 63 unchanged. On the BSE, there were 1,724 advances, 990 declines and unchanged 197.

On Monday, initially, the benchmark indices opened on a flat-to-positive note, in sync with their Asian peers. Besides, the equity markets were pushed up by higher European indices, healthy quarterly earnings and above average monsoon rain falls. In addition, hopes on the passage of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill during parliament's ongoing monsoon session supported prices. Further, investors' expected US Fed to maintain its key lending rates during the upcoming FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meet.  

On Tuesday, the benchmark indices opened on a flat-to-positive note in sync with their Asian peers. However, negative Japanese indices, lower crude oil prices and a weak rupee dented sentiments. Besides, investors were seen cautious ahead of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's meeting with his counterparts from the states to discuss proposed amendments to the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill. The pan-India tax reform has been passed by the Lok Sabha but is stuck in the Rajya Sabha, where the government lacks a majority. It is widely expected that the bill will be listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha following Jaitley's consultations with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers. Nevertheless, a logjam in parliament has spooked investors over the prospects of the bill getting passed. In addition, volatility was flared by the start of the US Fed's FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meet. 

On Wednesday, profit booking, combined with caution ahead of derivatives expiry, and a key announcement over the US interest rates, made the Sensex oscillate in a 300-point range. Sensex had earlier receded during the mid-afternoon trade session after touching new intra-day highs for the last 11 months. The BSE market breadth was slightly tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,341 declines and 1,317 advances. On the NSE advances, there were 787 advances, 798 declines and 78 unchanged. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The Indian equity markets on Thursday closed at new highs in almost a year, riding on short covering and expectations of a major economic legislation getting parliament's approval. On a closing basis, the wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) touched a new 52-week high. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE also reached its highest closing levels in 11 months. Healthy buying was witnessed in consumer durables, automobiles and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks. On the NSE, there were 818 advances, 638 declines and 62 unchanged. The BSE market breadth was slightly tilted in favour of the bulls -- with 1,486 advances and 1,164 declines. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

US Federal Reserve on Wednesday (India’s trading day of Thursday) kept federal funds rate unchanged, reiterating that it continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments. "Near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished," said the Fed in a statement after concluding two-day monetary policy meeting. This new expression might indicate that conditions are getting more favourable for further interest rate hikes in the future. Fed officials gave more upbeat description of the economy. There was some increase in labour utilisation in recent months, pointing to a healthy labour market despite the slowdown in April and May. Household spending have grown "strongly." Inflation continues to run below the Fed's 2% target, a major concern for Fed officials. But they expected inflation to rise to the target over the medium term as the transitory effects of past declines in energy and import prices dissipate and the labour market strengthens further. The policy to keep interest rates unchanged is good news for emerging markets like India, as it attracts foreign institutional investors. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

On Friday, Indian equity markets traded in the red as selling pressure was witnessed in banking, consumer durables, and capital goods stocks. The indices closed lower by around 0.50% over Thursday’s close. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Global Markets & News-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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28Th July 2016

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.10%) this morning are trading slightly higher by +0.12% on support from a +5% overnight rally in Facebook on better-than-expected revenue and user figures. The Euro Stoxx 50 index this morning is down by -0.67%, undercut by the banking sector after Lloyds Banking Group fell -4% on a disappointing earnings outlook tied in part to Brexit. The European banking sector is also lower ahead of bank stress-test results that will be released on Friday.

On the more positive side, European stocks are getting some underlying support this morning from news that the July Eurozone economic confidence index from the European Commission rose by +0.2 points to 104.6 from 104.4 in June, which was substantially stronger than market expectations for a-0.9 point decline to 103.5. The confidence report suggested that Europe largely shook off concerns about the July 23 Brexit vote. The July German unemployment rate was unchanged at a record low of 6.1%. The Spanish Q2 unemployment rate fell to a 6-year low of 20%.

The Nikkei index today closed -1.12% on yen strength with USD/JPY down -0.67 yen (-0.64%) this morning. The Japanese markets are worried about whether the BOJ on Friday will announce a sufficiently large expansion of new monetary stimulus measures to meet high market expectations. Prime Minister Abe on Wednesday announced a $265 billion fiscal stimulus plan to put pressure on the BOJ for the maximum amount of new monetary stimulus.

The rest of the Asian markets today closed mixed with support from Wednesday's FOMC results that reduced concerns for a rate hike as early as the next FOMC meeting in September: Hong Kong -0.20%, China Shanghai +0.08%, Taiwan +0.15%, Australia +0.30%, Singapore -0.78%, South Korea-0.34%, India +0.66%, Turkey +0.66%.

Sep 10-year T-notes (ZNU16 +0.01%) are up +1.5 ticks this morning as the market looks ahead to today's 7-year T-note auction. There are questions about Treasury demand at current yields after the weak demand seen at Tuesday's 5-year T-note auction.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.46%) is down -0.52 points (-0.53%) this morning as the dollar continues to slide on the market's dovish interpretation of Wednesday's FOMC post-meeting statement. The dollar is also lower on yen strength as USD/JPY (^USDJPY) fell -0.67 (-0.64%) on fears that the BOJ will disappoint on Friday. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) this morning is up +0.30 (+0.27%).

Commodity prices are up +0.42% this morning with support in part from today's -0.53% sell-off in the dollar index. Sep crude oil (CLU16 +0.24%) this morning is slightly lower by -0.05 (-0.12%) on continued overhang from yesterday's weekly EIA that showed an unexpected +1.7 million bbl increase in U.S. crude oil inventories and the third straight week of U.S. oil production gains. Sep gasoline (RBU16 +0.61%) this morning is up +0.0016 (+0.12%). Metals prices are trading sharply higher on the weak dollar with Aug gold (GCQ16 +1.07%) up +13.1 (+0.99%), Sep silver (SIU16 +2.13%) up +0.415 (+2.08%), and Sep copper (HGU16 +1.01%) up +0.016 (+0.73%). Grains are trading higher with Dec corn up +1.00 (+0.29%), Nov soybeans up +2.00 (+0.20%), and Sep wheat up +3.50 (+0.84%). Softs are mixed with Oct sugar down -0.04 (-0.21%), Sep coffee up +0.25 (+0.18%), Sep cocoa up +23 (+0.81%), and Dec cotton down -1.29 (-1.75%).The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected +8,000 to 261,000, previous -1,000 to 253,000) and continuing claims (expected +8,000 to 2.136 million, previous -25,000 to 2.128 million), (2) Jul Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity (expected +2 to 4, Jun +7 to 2), (3) Treasury auction of $28 billion of 7-year T-notes, and (4) USDA weekly Export Sales.

There are 67 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: Amazon.com (consensus $1.12), Alphabet (8.03), MasterCard (0.90), Ford (0.60), Harley-Davidson (1.54), PG&E (0.92), Marathon Petroleum (0.97), Dow Chemical (0.85), Baker Hughes (-0.62), CME Group (1.11).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: Bioventus Inc (BIOV), Talend SA (TLND).

Equity conferences this week include: none.

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading slightly higher by +0.12% on support from a +5% overnight rally in Facebook on better-than-expected revenue and user figures. Wednesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.12%, Dow Jones -0.01%, Nasdaq +0.58%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday closed slightly lower. Stocks were undercut by the weaker-than-expected June durable goods orders report of -4.0% and -0.5% ex-transportation (vs market expectations of -1.4% and +0.3%) and by the weaker-than-expected U.S. June pending home sales report of +0.2% m/m (vs expectations of +1.2%). There was also weakness in petroleum companies as Sep crude oil fell by another -2.3% to a new 3-month low. However, stocks saw underlying support from the FOMC's post-meeting statement that did not suggest that the FOMC is on the verge of a rate hike at its next meeting in September. U.S. stocks also got a boost from the early announcement of Japan's new $265 billion fiscal stimulus package.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

·         Facebook (FB +1.75%) rallied 5% overnight after revenue and user figures topped estimates on a surge in mobile ads.

·         Groupon (GRPN -3.32%) rallied 24% in after-hours trading on higher sales guidance for the remainder of the year.

·         Cirrus Logic (CRUS +2.50%) rallied 14% in after-hours trading after strong revenue guidance and EPS and sales figures that beat the consensus (Q1 EPS of 44 cents vs 27 cent consensus).

·         Whole Foods (WFM -1.38%) fell 4% in after-hours trading after missing sales estimates on tougher competition.

·         Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX +1.08%) fell -2.5% in after-hours trading after reporting disappointing sales for its Orkambi therapy.

·         Barrick Gold (ABX +4.40%) fell -2.6% in after-hours trading after releasing its quarterly earnings report.

·         Earnings reports this morning have been nearly all positive with results including: Fifth Third (FITB -0.05%)(0.41 vs 0.38 consensus), Marathon Petroleum (MPC -2.02%)(1.62 vs 0.97), Dow Chemical (DOW +0.17%)(0.95 vs 0.85), Colgate-Palmolive (CL -0.95%)(0.70 vs 0.60), Raytheon (RTN-0.04%)(2.38 vs 2.02), Bristol-Myers (BMY +1.88%)(0.69 vs 0.66), CME Group (CME +1.20%) (1.14 vs 1.11),

MARKET COMMENTS

Sep 10-year T-notes are up +1.5 ticks this morning as the market looks ahead to today's 7-year T-note auction. Wednesday's closes: TYU6 +13.5, FVU6 +8.5. Sep 10-year T-notes on Wednesday rallied moderately on the weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods and pending home sales reports and on relief that the FOMC did not adopt more hawkish language suggesting a rate hike in September. T-notes were also boosted by the -2.3% sell-off in Sep crude oil that further dampened inflation expectations.

The dollar index is down -0.52 points (-0.53%) this morning as the dollar continues to slide on the market's dovish interpretation of Wednesday's FOMC post-meeting statement. The dollar is also lower on yen strength as USD/JPY fell -0.67 (-0.64%) on fears that the BOJ will disappoint on Friday. EUR/USD this morning is up +0.30 (+0.27%). Wednesday's closes: Dollar index -0.10 (-0.11%), EUR/USD +0.0072 (+0.66%), USD/JPY +0.74 (+0.71%). The dollar index on Wednesday closed mildly lower on the market's dovish interpretation of the FOMC's post-meeting statement. USD/JPY rallied on Japanese Prime Minister Abe's earlier-than-expected announcement of a $265 billion fiscal stimulus package, which will put pressure on the BOJ for new stimulus measures at its Thu-Friday meeting.

Sep crude oil this morning is slightly lower by -0.05 (-0.12%) on continued overhang from yesterday's weekly EIA that showed an unexpected +1.7 million bbl increase in U.S. crude oil inventories and the third straight week of U.S. oil production gains. Sep gasoline this morning is up +0.0016 (+0.12%). Wednesday's closes: CLU6 -1.00 (-2.33%), RBU6 -0.0264 (-1.96%). Sep crude oil and gasoline on Wednesday closed lower with Sep crude oil posting a new 3-month low on the EIA report showing a +1.67 million bbl rise in U.S. crude oil inventories (vs expectations of -2.5 million bbls). Crude oil prices were also undercut by the +0.2% increase in U.S. oil production to 8.515 million bpd, the third straight weekly gain that now totals +1.0%.Total Investment & Insurance Solutions