Новини ринків

Discretionary plays casinos and gaming stocks are benefiting from some strong buying interest today.
In addition to broad market support, their advance stems partly from the decision by analysts at UBS to upgrade Las Vegas Sands (LVS 42.61, +0.65), which is a new two-week high.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN 127.97, +3.73) has made an especially strong bounce in the wake of the LVS upgrade, but it is still several dollars shy of its 52-week high.

The euro slumped against the dollar as European Union leaders cut the startup capital for a program for future emergency aid, stoking concern about governments’ efforts to quell the debt crisis.
EU leaders pared the fund’s paid-in capital as of 2013 to 16 billion euros ($23 billion), less than the 40 billion euros foreseen in a March 21 accord. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it will take the euro years to recover from the “sins of the past.”
The shared currency fell from almost its highest level in four months against the U.S. currency as a major European clearing house said Portuguese government bonds will no longer be eligible as collateral in certain transactions.
LCH Clearnet Ltd., Europe’s biggest clearing house, said Portuguese government bonds will no longer be eligible for delivery in any of its RepoClear euro general collateral baskets after the nation’s debt was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s yesterday. The exclusion takes effect from Monday, LCH said in a statement on its website.
New Zealand’s currency touched the highest in almost a month against the dollar as Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said the nation’s economy will get a boost next year.
The Australian dollar strengthened to the highest level versus its U.S. counterpart since foreign-exchange controls ended in 1983.
The yen headed for a 0.7% weekly loss versus the dollar and a 0.2% decline against the euro, in the week following the Group of Seven nations’ sale of yen to weaken the currency and support Japan’s recovery from its earthquake.

EUR/USD skids further, trades to near $1.4060 as stops were triggered below $1.4090. Area of $1.4050, Thursday lows, expected to provide support. Bids noted there.

GBP/USD skids to fresh lows for the day around $1.06009 after triggering bids on $1.6030. Currently rate holds around $1.6021.

The S&P 500 is up 0.69% at 1318.74, after trading in a 1309.66 to 1319.03 range. The S&P has broken above the downtrend line from the 2011 highs at 1344.03 (from Feb 18), which comes in at 1311.73. A close above that level would suggest scope for a move to the March 3 high at 1332.23.

CIBC says "Q4 GDP was revised up to 3.1%, from 2.8% previously reported. But the source of the revision was not that encouraging. Real final sales, GDP excluding inventories, was left unchanged, albeit at a very strong 6.7%. The upward revision came from a smaller drag from inventories" - so could be Q1 restocking.

Each of the three major equity averages is up with a narrow gain in the early going, but financials continue to trail. This is the third straight session that the financial sector has lagged the broader market.
Although the financial sector is down a relatively tame 0.2% this morning, the sector continues to lack buying interest. Bank of America (BAC 13.43, -0.05) continues to be a burden in the wake of the Fed's decision earlier this week to deny the bank's proposal to distribute capital in the second half of 2011. Meanwhile, British banking play Barclays (BCS 18.67, -0.33) has been aggressively backed down following reports that the outfit is the target of a Libor probe

"The proximate cause of the sharp drop in confidence was the rise in gas and food prices. The more damaging cause, however, was that the fewest consumers in more than a half century expected income increases, and many fewer anticipated gains in their inflation-adjusted incomes. The data clearly indicate that the rate of real consumer spending will diminish, but the data do not indicate a renewed downturn is now on the horizon. Continued job gains are essential as even modest job losses could quickly shift consumers toward retrenchment. For now, consumers find discounts attractive, and remain willing to modestly increase their spending."

"Final sales (unrevised at 6.7%) still rose at the fastest QoQ rate since 12 years. And the surge in final demand was sold out of inventories."

U.S. stock futures continued their upward streak Friday, as investors await the final reading of fourth-quarter GDP and shrug off geopolitical concerns.

Though unrest in the Middle East and Libya is spreading and Japan continues to deal with the effects of an earthquake, the market generally has trended higher this week.

University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for March. Economists expect a reading of 68.0 -- down slightly from 68.2 in February.
Mostly positive earnings news from the technology sector boosted U.S. stocks on Thursday, with all major indexes posting solid gains.
Companies: Shares of Oracle (ORCL) were up 4.7% in premarket, after the software company reported results late Thursday that were mostly in line with expectations. Oracle earnings grew by 78%, and sales rose 37% in the previous quarter. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to 6 cents a share.
Research in Motion (RIMM) shares plunged 12.1% in premarket trade, after the BlackBerry maker gave a weak first-quarter guidance late Thursday. RIMM's earnings were $1.78 per share, versus the $1.75 a share analysts had expected. Revenue rose 36% compared to last year, but still fell short of expectations.
Homebuilder KBHome (KBH) is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings results before the start of trade.
World markets:

Oil for May delivery gained 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $105.77 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery added 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,435.70 an ounce.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.40% from 3.39% late Thursday.

EUR/USD
Offers: $1.4200, $1.4220, $1.4240/50
Bids: $1.4120/00, $1.4095/90, $1.4060/50, $1.4035/30, $1.4015/00

The Swiss franc and Japanese yen weakened on optimism the global economic recovery can withstand the effects of Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis and Japan’s worst earthquake on record.
“If we don’t see a significant deterioration of events in Japan, then dollar-yen could try and push higher into next week,” said Jeremy Stretch, executive director of foreign- exchange strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London. “We are still in a state of relative crisis in the euro zone. There’s a little bit of selling pressure on the euro.”
The euro slipped from near its highest in more than a year against the dollar as European Union leaders prepare to conclude a two-day meeting on the crisis. Portugal, which reiterated its opposition to a financial bailout, had its credit rating lowered yesterday by Standard & Poor’s.
German business confidence fell less than economists forecast in March, a report showed today, suggesting Japan’s earthquake and the prospect of higher euro-region borrowing costs may not damp growth in Europe’s largest economy.
The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, declined to 111.1 from 111.3 in February, which was the highest reading since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991.
The euro headed for a 0.2 percent weekly drop against the dollar. European Union leaders cut the startup capital for the future euro emergency aid mechanism, stoking fresh concerns about Europe’s effort to quell its debt crisis. The leaders pared the fund’s paid-in capital as of 2013 to 16 billion euros ($23 billion), less than the 40 billion euros foreseen in a March 21 accord.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars headed for weekly gains.

US data starts at 1230GMT, when fourth quarter GDP  is expected to be revised up to a 3.0% rate of growth, while the chain price index is expected to be unrevised at +0.4%. Analysts have already turned their attention to the first quarter of 2011, however. 
At 1355GMT, the Michigan Sentiment index is expected to be revised down to a reading of 68.0 in March, still below the 77.5 reading in February.

Goldman says QE2 is 58% complete and "the Fed looks unlikely to slow the pace of buying as it approaches the end because they have become more confident that QE works primarily through stock rather than flow effects... We expect the FOMC to clarify details about the end of asset purchases at or shortly after the April FOMC meeting."