Morning Call For Wednesday, July 19

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU17 +0.07%) this morning are up +0.03% and European stocks are up +0.17%. Stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings results from Morgan Stanley is boosting the stock nearly 3% in pre-market trading and is leading the overall market higher. Also, energy stocks are higher with Aug WTI crude oil (CLQ17 +0.19%) up +0.41% as crude shook off overnight losses after API data late Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose +1.63 million bbl last week. Strength in gasoline is leading crude higher with Aug ROB gasoline (RBQ17 +0.99%) up +1.20% at a 1-1/2 month high after the crack spread rose to a 3-1/4 month high, which may boost refinery demand for crude to refine into gasoline. Gains in European stocks were limited ahead of Thursday’s ECB meeting where policy makers may announce changes to its QE program. Asian stocks settled higher: Japan +0.10%, Hong Kong +0.56%, China +1.36%, Taiwan +0.24%, Australia +0.75%, Singapore +0.57%, South Korea +0.08%, India +0.77%. Japanese stocks moved higher on short-covering ahead of the BOJ policy meeting on Thursday and China’s Shanghai Composite rose to a 3-month high, led by a rally in mining stocks, after Reuters reported that China is considering a merger of two of its biggest state-run metals companies, China Minmetals, and China National Gold Corp.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.21%) is up +0.18%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.23%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.05%.

Sep 10-year T-note prices (ZNU17 -0.07%) are down -3.5 ticks.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly MBA mortgage applications (previous -7.4% with purchase sub-index -2.5% and refi sub-index -13.0%), (2) Jun housing starts (expected +6.2% to 1.160 million, May -5.5% to 1.092 million) and Jun building permits (expected +2.8% to 1.201 million, May -4.9% m/m to 1.168 million), (3) EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.