* Majors averages churn around flat line
* Only tech, financials, energy gain; materials fall most
* U.S. Dollar index up, U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield rise
March 14 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of U.S. equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Sinéad Carew. Reach her on Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: sinead.carew.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
PRECIOUS METALS MINING SHARES: HEAVINESS ON THE CHARTS (1505 EST/1905 GMT)
Since melting up into a late-February high, precious metals mining shares have cooled. the Philadelphia SE Gold/Silver Index .XAU , made up of major mining companies, is down about 2 percent on Thursday. This brings its loss from its February 20 high to more than 6 percent. Meanwhile, spot gold XAU= is down close to 4 percent over this period. That said, the XAU index has been in a choppy range for more than a month. (Click on chart below)
On the upside, it is being weighed down by its descending 100-week moving average (WMA) now resistance at 78.62. The index last recorded a weekly close above this long-term moving average in late January 2018 so it remains a formidable barrier.
On the downside, the index is being supported by its rising 12-WMA, now at 73.69. The 12-WMA has held on a weekly closing basis since early December of last year.
Thus, once the contracting range between the two moving averages is resolved, the XAU index's next trend of significance may emerge. Meanwhile, one concern is waning momentum: the MACD is rolling under its summer 2016 high, and threatening a bear cross.
(Terence Gabriel)
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BIG Q4 GAAP VS NON-GAAP SPREAD MOSTLY IDIOSYNCRATIC (1400 EDT/1800 GMT)
The 2018 fourth-quarter net income margin based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was down year-over-year as GAAP earnings were 68 percent of non-GAAP earnings, compared with 78 percent in the year-ago quarter, according to David Bianco, chief investment strategist for the Americas and head of equities in the U.S. for Deutsche Asset Management.
One issue is that many charges were excluded from non-GAAP earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 related to new deferred tax liabilities from the deemed repatriation tax, he wrote.
One-time charges often are seasonal and cyclical, he added, but "the large GAAP vs non-GAAP spread in the fourth quarter of 2018 is from several large idiosyncratic charges that do not reflect current economic conditions."
(Caroline Valetkevitch)
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MORE GREEN JOBS: THE BUDDING WEED LABOR MARKET (1315 EDT/ 1715 GMT)
As eco-conscious "green" jobs are coming up in political discourse, it turns out the marijuana market is pumping out green jobs of a different variety.
Jessica Rabe of DataTrek Research points to a report by cannabis website Leafly showing that the state-legalized marijuana industry in the United States has the fastest-growing labor force in the country. There are 211,000 U.S. marijuana jobs, and some 30 percent of them were created in 2018.
That's more than the 52,000 U.S. coal mining jobs, 69,000 brewery workers and 112,000 textile manufacturing jobs, Rabe writes.
The nascent legal weed market matters to overall labor trends, according to Rabe, because it's creating jobs for people at all levels of experience and education, which is essential for sustaining U.S. job growth. Moreover, the industry's median pay is 11 percent above the U.S. median salary of $52,863, according to Glassdoor.
"Given Americans' growing reliance on marijuana jobs as a source of income, it's going to put more pressure on the federal government to address banks' concerns about taking on marijuana-related businesses as customers," Rabe writes.
Indeed, permitting banks to provide service to cannabis companies is the focus of the SAFE Act, of which the latest version was introduced in the House last week. Jaret Seiberg of Cowen's Washington Research Group says the SAFE Act is likely to pass through the House before U.S. elections in 2020 and that a similar measure could be added to a broader financial policy bill in the Senate.
One caveat, however: the current version of the bill drops language that could offer protection to investment banks seeking to work with U.S. cannabis companies as well as ETFs seeking to invest in them, Seiberg says. That means it may still be a long road for U.S. equity investors seeking more opportunities in the marijuana industry.
(April Joyner)
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WALL STREET EKES OUT TINY GAINS MID-SESSION (1231 EDT/1631 GMT)
Wall Street's three major indexes were barely higher in early afternoon trade with 7 of 11 sectors showing declines. Gains were capped by concerns about a potential delay in U.S.-China trade talks and data showing a higher-than-expected fall in new home sales in January.
The Russell 2000 .RUT small cap index was slightly lower.
Commerce Department data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell more than expected in January, suggesting the housing market weakness persisted early in the first quarter, despite a moderation in mortgage rates. materials sector .SPLRCM was the biggest percentage decliner of the S&P's 500's .SPX 11 major sectors. That said, there are some winners with the financial sector .SPSY the biggest gainer. Tech .SPLRCT and utilities .SPLRCU are also showing strength, while energy .SPNY is rising with higher oil prices.
(Sinéad Carew) *****
FUND FLOWS FAVOR BONDS OVER EQUITIES (1123 EDT/1523 GMT)
Stocks may have kicked off the year with a rally, but fund flows are telling a different story according to the latest data from TrimTabs Investment Research
In equity funds - both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds - investors took out $10.2 billion year-to-date through Tuesday, March 12, even while U.S. equity funds rose 13.4 percent and global equity funds rose 9.6 percent as the market rallied. These funds are on track for their fourth consecutive quarterly outflow, according to TrimTabs.
“Flows suggest the market still has a wall of worry left to climb,” said David Santschi, director of liquidity research at TrimTabs. “Both retail investors and day traders have been betting against stocks for most of this year.”
Bonds however tell a different story with $86.4 billion flowing into all bond funds through Tuesday, putting them on track for the biggest inflow since November 2017 through January 2018, according to TrimTabs. Most of the bond buying has been from retail investors. Bond mutual funds have added an estimated $60.0 billion so far this year after showing a record outflow of $123.3 billion in the fourth quarter, according to the research.
(Sinéad Carew)
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TRADERS PERPLEXED, BUT POINT TO "PATIENT" POWELL (1016 EDT/1416 GMT)
Traders have been surprised at the market's resilience in face of Boeing (NYSE:BA)'s BA.N share slide. In fact, one trader said: "It's been crazy to watch given its impact on the DJIA. It's been remarkable that despite it being so impactful, the index has been shaking it off, and it's had no repercussions anywhere else."
This as traders continue to point to Fed Chairman Powell's willingness to be "patient" on raising interest rates as a mitigating factor. Indeed, traders note that in the wake of the late-2018 plunge, it's no coincidence that the tone of the market changed dramatically the second the Fed's commentary turned more dovish. And they say that Powell reiterating that in his 60 Minutes interview that aired last Sunday night may have added fuel to a quad-witching-rally this week. said, traders aren't at a loss to find some perplexing action. This includes utilities and REITS making new highs. As one trader said, "not exactly the textbook leadership in a bull market." The trader did note that tech is strong and looking healthier technically, but there is concern about the fact that financials continue to trail so badly. Putting this all together, it means there are leadership concerns.
The messy action in the transports .DJT is also another concern. One trader noted, "Ok, they're rebounding after a 12-day losing streak, but they are still weak relative to the market." Gabriel)
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S&P 500 INDEX: CAN IT BLAZE THE TRAIL? (0915 EDT/1315 GMT)
The S&P 500 .SPX probed above significant resistance on Wednesday. In fact, the index hit a more than 5-month high. However, a number of other major indexes have yet to confirm this action, suggesting the need for immediate upside follow-through, else doubt may quickly grow over the sustainability of the thrust.
Indeed, the SPX reached 2,821.24 on Wednesday before slipping back into the close. With the late pullback, the index did fail to close above both the 78.6 percent Fibonacci retracement of the September to December decline (at 2,813.72) and the mid-October high (2,816.94). (Click on chart below)
Meanwhile, CME S&P 500 Futures EScv1 did not confirm the action in the index. The futures failed to make it above their mid-October high. The Nasdaq 100 .NDX also did not exceed its mid-October high.
Additionally, the Dow Industrials .DJI , Dow Transports DJT , NYSE Composite .NYA and Russell 2000 .RUT all remain shy of their late-February tops. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC did surpass its mid-October high, but like the SPX, it has yet to close above its resistance band. if the SPX fails to sustain strength above 2,800, the potential for a failed thrust can quickly build.
(Terence Gabriel)
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STOCK FUTURES POINT TO A HIGHER OPEN (0859 EDT/1259 GMT)
CME E-Mini S&P Futures EScv1 point to a slight gain at the open. This as futures held steady after U.S. data, but investors kept an eye on U.S.-China trade relations and Britain's struggle to reach a decision on the terms of its expected exit from the European Union. .N
Bloomberg reported that a meeting between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping to sign an agreement to end their trade dispute won't occur this month and is more likely to happen in April at the earliest. number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, suggesting the labor market was slowing, but probably not to the extent implied by a near-stall in job growth in February. U.S. import prices increased by the most in nine months in February, but the trend remained weak, with prices declining for a third straight month on an annual basis. Wednesday, all three major U.S. indexes had ended the day with gains.
(Sinéad Carew) *****
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Wall St futures point to slightly higher open
https://tmsnrt.rs/2UBxZQr SPX03142019
https://tmsnrt.rs/2UAUDsj Wall St slightly higher mid-session
https://tmsnrt.rs/2UwkJfU XAU03142019
https://tmsnrt.rs/2Uy553v
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