Equity futures indicate a marginally higher open on Wall Street as European equity markets have ticked higher with a lack of major newsflow driving markets. Volumes remain thin following the Asian session, as most markets were closed due to public holidays in China and Japan. The calendar continues to remain light with a lack of key data releases out of the US although market participants will be looking ahead to Fed's Yellen speaking on the economy at 1800GMT/1200CST. Also of note, attention on for the as CEO Tim Cook is due to be speaking at Goldman Sachs' Technology Conference tomorrow.
Heading into the North American open, equities in Europe are trading higher, although volumes have thinned considerably given the adverse weather conditions on both sides of the pond. There was little in terms of fresh catalysts (bullish or bearish) and market participants seemed more than content to drive equity prices higher. Of note, Japan's Amari said the Japanese government will continue its efforts to drive the Nikkei 225 stock average index to 13,000 points by the end of the fiscal year on March 31 (Nikkei 225 trades 11,153 last). Goldman Sachs downgraded equities to neutral over 3-months, but remains overweight over 12-month period and expect returns to be supported by a combination of a rebound in global growth, accelerating earnings growth and declining risk premia.
FTSE (+0.29%), CAC (+0.52%), DAX (-0.05%), SMI (+0.33%), IBEX (-0.79%), EURO STOXX (+0.12%) prices taken at 1322GMT
Best Performing Sectors in the STOXX Europe 600: Utilities (+0.95%), Financials (+0.24%), Consumer Goods (+0.07%)
Worst Performing Sectors in the STOXX Europe 600: Health Care (-0.56%), Oil & Gas (-0.41%), Technology (-0.39%)
DJI
Corporate Earnings
N/A
Other News
Microsoft ? Co.?s Surface Pro tablet has been sold out at most retail locations like Best Buy and Staples according to reports. (Business Insider)
Boeing ? Co. told some customers on Friday that 787 Dreamliner deliveries may be delayed for those expecting delivery in the next few months, as regulators try to ascertain the cause of battery problems that have grounded its world-wide fleet. (Newswires)
S&P 500
Corporate Earnings
Loews - Q4 loss per share USD 0.08, operating EPS USD 0.17 vs. Exp. EPS USD 0.30. Q4 revenue USD 3.71bln. (Newswires)
Other News
US Banks - The Treasury will be announcing new anti money-laundering rules in the coming weeks and according to reports, they have tempered the original proposal that would have imposed some of the toughest rules on banks to fight money laundering. (WSJ)
- Co. is to sell all or part of 5% stake in India MCX stock exchange. (CNBC)
Fluor ? Co. disclosed in a regulatory filing that on February 6 the board approved an increase of 8mln shares to the company?s share repurchase program. (Newswires)
McGraw-Hill - Idaho filed a lawsuit alleging the credit-rating agency owned by McGraw-Hill, Standard & Poor's, broke state consumer-protection laws by understating the risks of subprime mortgage securities. (Missoulian)
Delphi Automotive ? Co. has entered strategic collaboration agreement with NXP Semiconductors that extends the two companies' long-term relationship in automotive electronics by making NXP one of Delphi's strategic core suppliers. (Newswires)
Charles Schwab - Acacia Research announced that its Unified Messaging Solutions subsidiary has entered into a license and settlement agreement with Co., resolving patent litigation that was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. (Newswires)
Constellation Brands - Anheuser-Busch InBev?s bid to buy Grupo Modelo, who are in a joint-venture with Co. may face an obstacle unforeseen by the parties when the Justice Department sued to block the deal as U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts, Washington?s slowest judge was randomly picked to handle antitrust litigation over the USD 20.1bln deal. (Newswires)
CME Group ? Co. has won approval from the Financial Services Authority to clear European interest rate swaps and the new service is expected to be running by April. (FT - More)
? Co. increases quarterly dividend 25% to USD 0.3125 per share. (Newswires)
Sprint - The FCC is planning to move ahead with its original timetable for reviewing the proposed USD 20bln acquisition of Co. by SoftBank, dismissing Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen's request for a pause while Dish pursues a deal for Clearwire, according to sources. (New York Post)
Companies going ex-dividend: Amgen (USD 0.4700), Consolidated Edison (USD 0.6150), Valero Energy (USD 0.2000)
Companies paying dividend: Air Products & Chemicals (USD 0.6400), Texas Instruments (USD 0.2100)
Nasdaq 100
Corporate Earnings
N/A
Other News
? Co. is experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would perform some functions of a smartphone, according to people briefed on the effort. (WSJ) Furthermore, Co.?s strategy in India to increase its share of the fast-growing smartphone market may be working according to reports. In the last quarter of 2012, shipped 252,000 iPhones there, three times the number in the previous three months. (Newswires)
/BlackBerry ? Home Depot is planning to switch to iPhones from BlackBerry smartphones, replacing thousands of BlackBerry smartphones issued to its managerial and corporate staffers with versions of 's iPhone 4S. (Newswires)
? Co. Chairman Eric Schmidt is to sell 3.2mln shares of company stock. (Newswires)?
F5 Networks ? Co. announced that it has agreed to acquire LineRate Systems, a developer of software defined networking services. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. (Newswires)
Dell ? Co. said in a regulatory filing, ?the Board concluded that the proposed all-cash transaction is in the best interests of stockholders. The transaction offers an attractive and immediate premium for stockholders and shifts the risks facing the business to the buyer group. In addition, and importantly, the go-shop process provides stockholders an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives that are superior to the present offer." (Newswires) In other company news, Co.'s buyout group doesn't intend to raise offer according to two sources. (Newswires)?
Celgene ? Co. gets go ahead in China for their Mantle Cell Lymphoma drug. (Newswires)
Life Technologies - Co. gets FDA clearance for diagnostic use of Sanger Sequencing Platform and HLA typing kits. (Newswires)
Broker Moves
Upgrades
WELLS FARGO UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
U.S. BANCORP UPGRADED TO HOLD FROM SELL AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
MONSANTO PRICE TARGET RAISED TO USD 130 FROM USD 120 AT PIPER JAFFRAY
RENASANT UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT KEEFE BRUYETTE
GRAPHIC PACKAGING UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
AOL UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM SECTOR PERFORM AT CAPITAL
H.B. FULLER UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
NIKE UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN
TESORO UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT BOFA/MERRILL
VMWARE UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT EVERCORE
KROGER UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT GOLDMAN
MONRO MUFFLER UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT ISI GROUP
Downgrades
SPRINT DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT ATLANTIC EQUITIES
ELAN DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT UBS
PRIMERICA DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT KEEFE BRUYETTE
POWER INTEGRATIONS DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT DEUTSCHE BANK
CHARLES SCHWAB DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT CITIGROUP
PDC ENERGY DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT SUNTRUST
FOSSIL DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT BENCHMARK CO.
SIGMA-ALDRICH DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT UBS
VIRGINIA COMMERCE DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES
COMERICA DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM HOLD AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
FIFTH THIRD BANCORP DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
KEYCORP DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM HOLD AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
FIFTH THIRD BANCORP DOWNGRADED AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
BAKER HUGHES DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT DAHLMAN ROSE
BASIC ENERGY DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT DAHLMAN ROSE
ENSCO DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT DAHLMAN ROSE
COMERICA DOWNGRADED AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
KEYCORP DOWNGRADED AT STIFEL NICOLAUS
AMGEN DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT WILLIAM BLAIR
LINKEDIN DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT NORTHLAND SECURITIES
Other News
Sarepta - Accelerated approval for Co.'s eteplirsen for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, is likely to be denied by the FDA according to reports. (TheStreet)
Splunk - JK&B Capital has reported 7.2% passive stake in Co. (Newswires)
US Airways Group ? Co. and AMR are close to agreeing on an USD 11bln merger, creating the world's largest airline and the deal may be announced within a week, (Newswires) The potential deal between American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group to create the world's biggest airline would likely fly clear of government objections according to experts. (WSJ)
? Co.?s clinical partner, UCLA, has received approval of its Investigator Investigational New Drug Application with the FDA to initiate a Phase I/II study for nearsightedness. (Newswires)
USD Index up 0.14% at 1331GMT (0731CST)
If you require information regarding today's European corporate news please refer to the RANsquawk "EU Equity Opening News' sheet or visit www.RANsquawk.com.
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