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In Asia, most stocks declined led by airlines and carmakers on concern over rising crude oil prices and the impacts from the aftermath of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. In China imports and exports were better than expected and in Japan, the Nikkei fell pressured by a downgrade by Citigroup to the carmakers and as Machine Orders Tools data was weaker than expected.
Markets in Europe were dipping into negative territory on concern over higher oil prices biting into companies’ bottom line and as participants took some profits ahead of the new earnings season.
Commodities were quiet, but crude oil still trading above $112 per barrel. Speculation on a possible Libyan peace deal was capping gains in the crude oil market, after Muammar Qaddafi said to have agreed to the Arab League road map to peace, which spurred speculation, that oil exports might resume.
In economic news, at 10 am, Wholesale Inventories data will be released, with consensus calling for an increase of 1%.
Today’s stocks to watch: Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW), Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM).
Alcoa (NYSE:AA), the aluminum producer, will be the focus of the session, as the Dow component is scheduled to report its quarterly results after the closing bell. On average analysts expect the company to report a profit of $0.27 per share on revenue of $6.32 billion. Last quarter, Alcoa posted an 11% earnings upside surprise after reporting a profit of $0.21 per share. Alcoa has calculated support at $15.42 and resistance at $18.30. Alcoa 52-week high is at $18.47, which was posted earlier in the month.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was gaining 0.57% to $336.99 in pre-market. The stock has been in a pattern on lower highs and lower lows, as it continues to trade below its 50day moving average at $347.51. Participants continue to debate around the impacts supply disruptions will have in their efforts to ramp up production of the highly successful iPad2 and the impact it will have in estimates and sales if the iPhone 5, expected during the summer gets delayed into the fall. The stock has been trading in the middle of a trading range that has support at the January low of $326 and resistance at the 50day moving average. Apple is scheduled to report its results on April 20th, however this time the stock has not have a big pre-earnings run, leaving it open for increased volatility following the results and the subsequent conference call. On average analysts expect a profit of $5.33 per share on revenue of $23.18 billion. Last quarter the company posted a 19.4% earnings upside surprise, as it earned $6.43 per share.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), the U.S. largest lender, was falling 0.22% to $13.45, trading very close to its 200day moving average. Higher energy prices are bearish for financials, as they will impact the recovery of the U.S. consumer, delaying their balance sheet improvement. Bank of America will move ahead of its quarterly report scheduled for April 15th, as it will likely react to JPMorgan’s results scheduled for Wednesday. On Average analysts expect Bank of America to earn $0.28 per share on revenue of $27.08 billion.
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Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, will likely see a downside bias, as copper prices were falling 0.43% after import data in China showed lower imports of the metal into the country compared with last year, fueling speculation that demand may weaken in the world’s largest consumer of copper. Freeport has calculated support at $46.20 and resistance at $58.23, which the stock traded above it on Friday but closed lower at $57.23.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), the owner of the largest Internet search engine in the world, was adding 0.20% to $579.29 after Oppenheimer reduced its 2011 margin assumptions ahead of Thursday’s quarterly results. However the firm believes that as investor sentiment remains very negative, the first quarter results could mark a bottom in the stock. While there is less revenue visibility than in prior quarters, investor concerns are mostly focused on higher expenses, despite the concerns, Oppenheimer has a target price of $715. Google is trading between its 50day moving average and its 200day moving average at $595.88 and $556.79, respectively, levels which could come in play following the earnings report and subsequent conference call. On average analysts expect a profit of $8.13 per share on revenue of $6.32 billion.
PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), the Allentown, Pennsylvania based electricity generator, was falling 1.35% to $25.52, after the company announced concurrent offerings of 80 million shares of its common stock and $750 million of equity units. Proceeds of the offerings will be used to repay a portion of the 3.6 billion pounds Sterling Bridge Term Loan Facility used to fund PPL's recently completed 4.1 billion pounds acquisition of the Central Networks electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW), the largest metal streaming company in the world, was climbing 1.22% to $47.48, trading very close to its 52-week high at $47.60, as silver prices trade above $41 an once, a level not seen in 31-years. Silver was jumping 1.52% to $41.225, as traders seem to speculate industrial demand for the metal will be strong and jump into the silver bandwagon as a way to protect wealth amid currency turmoil and threat of inflation.
Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM), the world’s largest automaker, was falling 1.26% to $76.90 after Citigroup downgraded the automakers to a Sell from Buy in Japan, citing uncertainty about when production would recover after the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami, affected their supply chains forcing shutdowns around the world. Toyota has calculated support at $75.95 and resistance at $84.28.
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