Stock Market Update from Briefing.com

9:16 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -8.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.50. Equity futures trade near their pre-market lows with the S&P 500 futures off by 0.6%.

Today's better-than-expected durable goods report for April provided a brief boost to index futures before the move was retraced entirely.

For April, durable goods orders rose 3.3% after declining an upwardly revised 5.9% (from -6.9%) in March. The Briefing.com consensus expected durable goods orders to rise 1.6%. The sawtooth pattern in transportation held up despite Boeing (BA 99.51, -0.24) announcing lower aircraft orders in April. Transportation orders rose 8.1% in April as defense and nondefense aircraft orders increased 25.7%. Excluding transportation, durable goods demand was solid all-around and increased 1.3% in April after declining 1.7% in March.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.9% to reclaim a portion of its losses from Thursday while European markets trade in mixed fashion. It is worth noting, however, that financials are among the laggards in the key European markets. Similarly, U.S. financials are poised to begin the session on a lower note. Citigroup (C 50.20, -0.33), Goldman Sachs (GS 156.56, -0.85), and Morgan Stanley (MS 24.11, -0.14) all trade with losses between 0.5% and 0.7%.

8:56 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -7.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.30.

U.S. equity futures remain in the red with the S&P 500 futures down 0.5%.

The major Asian bourses saw a mixed session with Japan's Nikkei (+0.9%) gaining back just a small portion of yesterday's loss. Action was volatile as trade had swings of 3% in either direction before climbing back into the green ahead of the close. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda spoke overnight in Tokyo, stating the central bank's aggressive policy that was launched in April is "necessary and sufficient," and that "We don't have a specific target for stock prices or currency rates, and I won't comment on daily moves." Reports out overnight suggested the Bank of Japan was once again providing liquidity to the Japanese bond market. Elsewhere, indications are the People's Bank of China will push for an exchange rate mechanism later in 2013. Data out overnight was limited to the Philippines trade deficit, which narrowed to $593.1 million ($966.7 million previous).

• In Japan, the Nikkei rose 0.9% amid a volatile session. Telecom provider Softbank outperformed with a 1.3% advance following news that all of the regulatory approval has been granted for its proposed merger with Sprint Nextel. Meanwhile, the strength in the yen made for a mixed trade for exporters. Sony slid 0.5% and Honda Motor added 0.7%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2% as shares slipped to their worst level in four weeks. Property stocks lagged as China Overseas Land declined 1.7%. On the upside, Lenovo outperformed with a 3.8% gain as analysts began upgrading the name following yesterday's earnings.
• In China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.6% as trade reclaimed some of yesterday's lost ground. Railway stocks were in favor as China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp. both climbed close to 2.0% on reports China Railway may write a new order. Meanwhile, property stocks underperformed with Gemdale giving up 1.0%.

Key European indices trade in mixed fashion after seeing early gains across the board. Investors received several economic data points with Germany as the focal point. The second estimate of Germany's GDP confirmed first quarter growth of 0.1% quarter-over-quarter, in line with expectations. In addition, the Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 105.7 from 104.4 (104.5 expected). The current assessment component surprised to the upside with a reading of 110.0 (107.2 forecast) while Business Expectations held steady at 101.6, as expected. Also of note, the GfK Consumer Climate rose to 6.5 from 6.2 (6.2 expected). Elsewhere, French Business Survey rose to 92 from 88 (89 expected). Italian consumer confidence slipped to 85.9 from 86.3 (86.8 forecast). Spanish PPI declined 0.5% (+0.9% consensus). In the United Kingdom, BBA Mortgage Approvals were reported at 32.2K (32.7K expected, 31.4K prior).

In news, European Commissioner Michel Barnier said the European Union plans to publish a report on financial supervision overhaul by the end of the year. Also of note, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes asking the European Central Bank to calm markets creates a weak Europe and that state insolvencies must be possible within the euro area.

• In France, the CAC is higher by 0.3% as industrials display relative strength. Alstom and Bouygues are both up near 1.5%. On the downside, financials BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale trade with losses between 0.8% and 1.6%.
• Germany's DAX trades lower by 0.3% as financials weigh. Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank trade with respective losses of 4.3% and 3.1%. Siemens is among the outperformers as the major industrial name trades with a gain of 1.6%.
• In the United Kingdom, the FTSE is off by 0.5% with banks and miners leading to the downside. Royal Bank of Scotland is down 3.1% and Eurasian Natural Resources trades lower by 2.6%.

8:33 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.50. Equity futures moved up in reaction to the latest durable orders data. However, the S&P 500 futures continue to trade lower by 0.3%.

April durable goods orders increased by 3.3%, which was better than the 1.6% increase that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com. This comes after the prior month's reading was revised up to reflect a decrease of 5.9%.

Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased by 1.3%, which was better than the 0.5% rise that had been broadly anticipated.

8:02 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.50.

U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market lows with the S&P 500 futures off by 0.5%.

Looking at overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.6%, Japan's Nikkei added 0.9% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2%.
  • Regional economic data was limited to just one notable release:
    • New Zealand reported a trade surplus of $157 million ($475 million expected, $718 million previous).
  • In news:
    • Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank does not have specific targets for equity prices or the yen exchange rate. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Taro Aso chose not to comment on the recent volatility in Japanese capital markets.
      
      
• Key European indices trade generally lower after registering gains in early action. France's CAC is off by 0.2%, the United Kingdom's FTSE is lower by 0.7%, and Germany's DAX trades down 1.0%.
  • Investors received several economic data points:
    • The second estimate of Germany's GDP confirmed first quarter growth of 0.1% quarter-over-quarter, in line with expectations. In addition, the Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 105.7 from 104.4 (104.5 expected). The current assessment component surprised to the upside with a reading of 110.0 (107.2 forecast) while Business Expectations held steady at 101.6, as expected. Also of note, the GfK Consumer Climate rose to 6.5 from 6.2 (6.2 expected).
    • French Business Survey rose to 92 from 88 (89 expected).
    • Italian consumer confidence slipped to 85.9 from 86.3 (86.8 forecast).
    • Spanish PPI declined 0.5% (+0.9% consensus).
    • In the United Kingdom, BBA Mortgage Approvals were reported at 32.2K (32.7K expected, 31.4K prior).
  • Looking at news:
    • European Commissioner Michel Barnier said the European Union plans to publish a report on financial supervision overhaul by the end of the year.
    • Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann believes asking the European Central Bank to calm markets creates a weak Europe and that state insolvencies must be possible within the euro area.

In U.S. corporate news:

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 48.10, -6.27) trades down 11.7% after missing on earnings and revenue.
• Pandora Media (P 19.38, +2.22) is jumping 12.9% after reporting in-line earnings on above-consensus revenue.
• Procter & Gamble (PG 81.50, +2.80) trades higher by 3.6% after the company reaffirmed its guidance and named Alan G. Lafley President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. Note Mr. Lafley has previously served as company President and CEO from 2000 to 2009.
• Salesforce.com (CRM 42.51, -3.18) is down 7.0% after its cautious guidance overshadowed the company's in-line earnings.

April durable orders and durable orders ex-transportation will be reported at 8:30 ET.

6:52 am: [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.00.

6:52 am: [BRIEFING.COM] Nikkei...14612.45...+128.50...+0.90%.  Hang Seng...22618.67...-51.00...-0.20%.

6:52 am: [BRIEFING.COM] FTSE...6655.60...-41.40...-0.60%.  DAX...8292.32...-61.00...-0.70%.