Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties in order to annex Crimea on Tuesday in Moscow’s first step to begin the process of absorbing the small peninsula. The treaty was drawn up after Putin delivered an impassioned speech about Russia’s past and caused many to worry about the future of the region. Although Putin has promised that Moscow has no further plans to hone in on Ukrainian territory, some think the recent death of a Ukrainian soldier in Crimea may be the beginning of further violence.
In other news around the markets:
- General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra claims she wasn’t aware of the company’s defective cars until almost 13 years after the problem was discovered. Barra publically apologized for the loss of 12 lives linked to the faulty ignition switch and created a new vehicle safety chief position to prevent another oversight.
- Reuters reported that a source close to the investigation of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet says the plane is likely somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. Officials are narrowing their search to that region and working on the assumption that someone with vast technical knowledge of the plane’s navigation and communication systems interfered with the flight plan.
- Weaker than expected Japanese export growth has the nation’s central bankers worried about the upcoming sales tax hike. Exports rose by 9.8 percent in February, far below the 12.4 percent gain which was expected. Bank of Japan board member Takahide Kiuchi said that lackluster export data and weakening consumer spending will likely continue, but that policy easing would not help the economy in the long term.
- Iranian officials and a group of world powers met for their second day of nuclear talks in Vienna on Wednesday. The group, which includes Russia, has said the tension between the West and Moscow has not had an effect on their progress in resolving the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear development program.
Asian markets were mostly lower with the exception of the Japanese NIKKEI, which gained 0.36 percent. China’s Shanghai composite was down 0.17 percent, the Shenzhen composite lost 0.50 percent, the South Korean KOSPI fell 0.13 percent and the Hang Seng index lost 0.07 percent.
European Markets
Europe’s markets were mixed on Wednesday; the UK’s FTSE lost 0.12 percent, but the eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.03 percent. The German DAX was up 0.33 percent, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.09 percent and Italy’s MIB was down 0.35 percent.
Energy futures were lower on increasing supply and waning global demand; Brent futures lost 0.44 percent and WTI futures were down 0.06 percent. Gold and silver lost 0.81 percent and 2.66 percent respectively; but industrial metals were mostly higher with tin up 0.81 percent and aluminum up 0.67 percent.
The euro held onto its strength at $1.3916 and the pound rose 0.17 percent against the dollar. The dollar gained 0.14 percent against the yen and lost 0.19 percent against the Australian dollar.
Earnings
Notable earnings released on Tuesday included:
- DSW Inc. DSW reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.30 on revenue of $572.30 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.35 on revenue of $594.25 million.
- Oracle Corporation ORCL reported third quarter EPS of $0.68 on revenue of $9.31 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.65 on revenue of $8.97 billion.
- Adobe Systems IncorporatedADBE reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.30 on revenue of $1.00 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.35 on revenue of $1.01 billion.
Stocks moving in the Premarket included:
- Peabody Energy CorpBTU gained 5.04 percent in premarket trade after rising 0.83 percent on Tuesday.
- Transocean LtdRIG was up 1.17 percent in premarket trade after falling 3.92 percent over the past five days.
- Berkshire Hathaway IncBRKB rose 1.13 percent in premarket trade after losing 1.51 percent over the past week.
- Newmont Mining CorpNEM was down 0.67 percent in premarket trade after falling 1.94 percent on Tuesday.
Notable earnings releases expected on Wednesday include:
- FedEx Corporation FDX is expected to report third quarter EPS of $1.54 on revenue of $11.46 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.23 on revenue of $10.95 billion.
- General Mills, Inc. GIS is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.68 on revenue of $4.46 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $4.43 billion.
- Jabil Circuit, Inc.JBL is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.11 on revenue of $3.62 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.53 on revenue of $4.42 billion.
Economics
The results of the US Federal Reserve policy meeting will be top news on Wednesday’s economic calendar as investors look for clues about the nation’s economic health as well as insight into the bank’s future policy plans. Other notable economic releases include New Zealand’s GDP, US oil inventory data, US current account, and the British unemployment rate.
For a recap of Tuesday’s market action, click here.
<p>Tune into Benzinga’s pre-market info show with Dennis Dick and Joel Elconin <a> http://optionshouse.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/ />here</a>.</p>
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