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FTSE / DOW

Good morning traders!

In the US last night, the Dow fell 179 points to 16,258, the Nasdaq lost 62 points at
4,113 and the S&P500 shed 23 points at 1,819.

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently down 489 points at 15,423 and the Hang Seng
off 77 points at 22,812.

WTI crude oil traded at $91.80 a barrel and Brent crude at $106.75.

Gold settled at $1,250 an ounce.

Good hunting!

G.

French CPI m/m 0.3% 0.4% 0.0%

Opening Market Overview

GBP CPI y/y 2.0% 2.1% 2.1%

GBP PPI Input m/m 0.1% -0.2% -0.7%

GBP RPI y/y 2.7% 2.7% 2.6%

GBP Core CPI y/y 1.7% 1.8% 1.8%

GBP HPI y/y 5.4% 5.9% 5.5%

GBP PPI Output m/m 0.0% 0.2% -0.2%

EUR Industrial Production m/m 1.8% 1.6% -1.1%

Midday Market Overview

J.P. Morgan earnings slip 7%

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM +0.09% reported its fourth-quarter profit fell 7% to $5.3 billion, or $1.30 a share, from $5.7 billion, or $1.39 a share, a year earlier. Net income for common shareholders was $4.9 billion, also down 7%. Adjusted per-share earnings were $1.40, after factoring in the sale of One Chase Manhattan Plaza and other one-time gains or expenses. Revenue fell 1% to $24.1 billion, from $24.4 billion a year earlier, the country's largest bank said Tuesday. Mortgage originations plunged 54% over the year, to $23.3 billion. Investment banking net income was down 57% over the year. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.26 a share on revenue of $23.7 billion, according to FactSet. Shares in J.P. Morgan were flat in pre-market trading.

Goldman’s Kostin: Stocks are starting to look overvalued

Equity investors take heed: One prominent strategist thinks the S&P 500 index’s valuation is “lofty by almost any measure”.

David Kostin of Goldman Sachs writes that the current price-to-earnings multiple on the S&P 500 SPX -1.26% is about as high as it can get under these current conditions, both as measured by the aggregate index (15.9 times) and the median stock (16.8 times).

After a surge higher in stocks in 2013, Kostin doesn’t see the ratio widening to 17 or 18 times, as “many investors expect”. Rather, a continued rally in stocks will hinge on profit growth.

In a somewhat ironic twist, the sellside is now advising the buyside to temper its optimism, rather than the other way around. Kostin notes that some buysiders have year-end 2014 targets on the S&P that range between 2000 and 2200, which is above his projection, and, we’d add, that of many others on the Street.

more...

Top Samsung Analyst Predicts Stock Wipeout Will Deepen

The slump in Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) that wiped out $28 billion of market value in six weeks will deepen as Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Chinese rivals take market share in handsets, according to the stock’s most-accurate forecaster.

more..

USD Core Retail Sales m/m 0.7% 0.4% 0.4%

USD Retail Sales m/m 0.2% 0.2% 0.7%

USD Import Prices m/m 0.0% 0.3% -0.6%

U.S. retail sales rise 0.2% in December

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.2% in December, as Americans stocked up on food and drinks for the holidays, bought more clothes and boosted purchases online, according to government data issued Tuesday. The increase would have been 0.7% excluding the large auto sector, whose sales tapered off in December after hitting a post-recession high in the prior month. Retail sales account for about one-third of consumer spending, the main engine of economic growth. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast sales to fall 0.1% overall but rise 0.4% excluding autos. The sales increase for November, meanwhile, was lowered to 0.4% from 0.7%, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. And the increase for October was trimmed one-tenth to 0.5%. The downward revisions in sales are likely to spur some economists to cut growth forecasts for the fourth quarter. In 2013, retail sales rose by 4.2%, the smallest annual gain since the recession ended

End-of-day Market Overview