Wednesday’s Highlights – S&P Record Breaking Celebration on Burgeoning Chinese Imports

By Staff Writer:

The S&P 500 Index broke into record territory Wednesday, supported by a report showing burgeoning imports in China. The world has been waiting for a growing Chinese middle class to spur demand for goods and services globally. Also, the Federal Reserve mistakenly sent copies of its meeting minutes a day early to some trade groups and to Congress, and so released them to the broader public premarket to avoid any further complications. The news offered nothing that was not already expected, though it did reflect an internal debate regarding when the Fed might pull back on its easing programs. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: IVV) was up 1.0% at 11:00 AM ET, while the Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index Tracking ETF (Nasdaq: ONEQ) was up 1.5%.

Economic Reports

The Federal Reserve published the minutes of its March meeting early today because they were leaked. The information sheds light on the intimacies of the discussion in-bank and is of utmost importance to equity investors. Nothing new was reported, but the info did reflect an internal debate on the Fed timeline to pull back its quantitative easing program.

Also, Minneapolis Fed Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota moderated a panel at the Atlanta Fed conference this morning. Dallas Fed Bank President Richard Fisher is speaking on the economy and monetary policy in Texas at 1:00 PM ET.

The Monthly Treasury Budget will be reported for the month of March at 2:00 PM ET. Economists expect the month to show a budget deficit of $172.4 billion, versus $203.5 billion reported in February. Over the past 10 years, the average deficit for March has been $107.6 billion. It’s obvious why the President picked this particular day to send his budget plan for fiscal 2014 to Congress.

We also received the latest mortgage activity data from the Mortgage Bankers Association in the premarket Wednesday. The latest report covering the period ending April 5 showed the MBA’s Market Composite Index increased by 4.5%, versus last week’s decrease of 4.0%. Applications tied to the purchases of homes decreased 1.0% in the latest period, while the Refinance Index increased by 6.0%.

Commodity Markets (10:40 AM ET)

WTI Crude	-0.1%
Brent Crude	-0.5%
RBOB Gasoline	-2.1%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+3.5%
Gold Spot	-1.0%
Silver Spot	-1.1%
COMEX Copper	-0.8%
CBOT Corn	-0.5%
CBOT Wheat	-1.5%
CBOT Soybeans	Unchanged
ICE Sugar	+0.7%
ICE Cocoa	-0.4%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	+0.2%
CME Live Cattle	-0.3%

Look for the EIA’s regular Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 AM ET. Last week’s report covering the week ending March 29 showed crude oil inventory increased by 2.7 million barrels, and remained well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline decreased by 0.6 million barrels but remained in the middle of the average range.

Overseas Markets

EUROPE	10:55 AM	ASIA/PACIFIC	10:55 AM
EURO STOXX 50	+2.6%	NIKKEI 225	+0.7%
German DAX	+2.1%	Hang Seng	+0.8%
CAC 40	+2.1%	S&P/ASX 200	-0.2%
FTSE 100	+1.3%	Korean KOSPI	+0.8%
Greek ASE	+3.0%	BSE India SENSEX	+1.0%

Chinese trade data showed a 14.1% jump in March imports, exciting the investment community about burgeoning domestic demand in China. It was twice the increase expected by economists. However, the pace of export growth slowed to 10% in March, likely reflecting difficulties in Europe. A separate report showed French industrial output rose 0.7% in February, beating economists’ expectations and making up for a decrease the month before.

G-8 foreign ministers start a two-day meeting in London Wednesday.

Corporate Events

In corporate news, shares of Taylor Morrison Home (Nasdaq: TMHC) soared after its IPO was oversubscribed. First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) offered optimistic guidance and its shares soared. There are analyst or investor days scheduled at Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP), American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) and Calpine (NYSE: CPN). The Telsey Advisory Group Spring Conference offers a presentation by Elizabeth Arden (Nasdaq: RDEN).

The EPS schedule highlights reports from Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY), Carmax (NYSE: KMX), Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST), Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO), Frisch’s Restaurants (NYSE: FRS), Titan Machinery (Nasdaq: TITN), ADTRAN (Nasdaq: ADTN), API Technologies (Nasdaq: ATNY), Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG), China Hydroelectric (NYSE: CHC), Jinkosolar (NYSE: JKS), MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSM), Richardson Electronics (Nasdaq: RELL) and Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.