US index futures are in the green this morning with gains of 0.4%-0.9%, boosted by another round of mostly positive earnings overnight. They have, however, slipped back from highs set earlier this morning following a disappointing US Q1 GDP report. European markets, including the Dax and FTSE are pretty much flat today.
Currency and commodity trading action is mixed today. Gold is up 0.2% trading near $2,000/oz, and Bitcoin is up 1.0%, while the Euro and Pound are down 0.3%. WTI Crude Oil is up 0.4% while Copper is down 0.6%.
Today’s US Q1 GDP report indicates that Stagflation (low growth and high inflation) remains a problem. US Q1 GDP growth was weaker than anticipated (1.1% vs street 2.0% and previous 2.6%), while price growth was more than expected (4.0% vs street 3.8%). US jobless claims were better than expected (230K vs street 248K) and pending home sales are due for release at 9:00 am EDT.
Investors continue to respond favorably to earnings from Big Tech, driving up the NASDAQ. Last night’s headliner was Meta Platforms ($2.20 vs street $2.02, up 11.3% premarket). Airline results and premarket action are mixed with Southwest (-$0.27 vs street -$0.23, down 5.1% premarket) disappointing and American ($0.05 vs street $0.04, up 0.8% premarket) profitable and beating expectations. Other senior companies reporting today include Caterpillar ($4.91 vs street $3.80) and Merck* ($1.40 vs street $1.32, up 2.5% premarket). Eli Lilly ($1.62 vs street $1.73) posted disappointing numbers. After the close today, results are due from Amazon.com, Mastercard, Intel, and others.
In Canada today, Bombardier* ($1.45 vs street -$0.11) and Rogers Communications ($1.09 vs street $0.96) have beaten expectations, while Canadian Pacific ($0.90 vs street $0.91) missed by a penny last night.
*Shares of Merck and Bombardier are held in some portfolios managed by SIA Wealth Management.
