In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei index edged higher on Friday and looked set for a solid weekly gain as the weaker yen helped push it closer to a one-year high. The Nikkei was up 0.4 percent at 19,474.15 points by midday, and was poised to gain 1.8 percent for the week. The broader Topix was up 0.4 percent at 1,551.09, and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was 0.5 percent higher at 13,924.34. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was little changed with several markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. It is on track to end the week up 1.9 percent. The Australian index, S&P/ASX 200, gained 0.68 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar perked up on Friday, rebounding from a seven-week low on optimism over the U.S. economic outlook and corporate earnings, while the Mexican peso fell after the White House floated the idea of a 20 percent tax on Mexican goods to pay for a border wall. The White House said on Thursday that Trump proposed a new 20 percent tax on goods from Mexico to pay for the wall. The Mexican peso fell 0.6 percent against the dollar following the news, and stepped back from Thursday’s three-week high of 20.8645. The euro last stood at $1.0679 against the greenback, while sterling was fetching $1.2582, and is on track to gain 1.8 percent for the week. The dollar gained 0.4 percent against the yen to 114.96 yen.

In Commodities Markets oil prices were stable on Friday, with rising crude output from the United States offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures were trading at $56.21 per barrel, virtually unchanged from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $53.84 a barrel, up 6 cents. Spot gold prices were down 0.5 percent at $1,182.87 per ounce, having hit their lowest since Jan. 11 at $1,182.45. Spot silver fell 0.2 percent to $16.73 an ounce, while platinum fell 0.5 percent to $970.60. Palladium fell 0.3 percent to $718.83, after hitting its lowest since Jan. 4 at $711.15 on Thursday.

In US Equity Markets stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors paused following a two-day rally that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the 20,000 mark, while the latest wave of earnings rolled in. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16 percent, to close at 20,100.91, the S&P 500 lost 1.69 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,296.68 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.02 percent, to 5,655.18. Qualcomm fell 5.0 percent after posting a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue. Whirlpool lost 8.5 percent. The world’s largest maker of home appliances posted a quarterly profit below expectations. Consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.2 percent, were among the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors.

In Bond Markets the Bank of Japan surprised the government bond market on Friday by increasing its buying in five- to 10-year bonds, helping to bring down their yields from 11-month highs touched earlier this week. The 10-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.070 percent. Yields on other maturities have fallen in tandem, with the 20-year yield falling 1.5 basis points to 0.640 percent retreating further from Thursday’s 0.660 percent. The five-year yield fell 0.5 basis point to minus 0.100 percent from a one-month high of minus 0.085 percent.

Economic Calendar
14:30 GMT+0 US Advance GDP q/q
14:30 GMT+0 US Core Durable Goods Orders m/m

US Equity Earnings
American Electric Power (AEP) – Q4 EPS USD 0.67 vs. Exp. USD 0.55 and Q4 revenue USD 3.8bln vs. Exp. USD 3.91bln.
AT&T (T) – Q4 EPS USD 0.66 vs. Exp. USD 0.66 and Q4 revenue USD 41.8bln vs. Exp. USD 42.04. The Co. forecast revenue growth in low-single digits.
Baker Hughes (BHI) – Q4 Loss/shr USD 0.30 vs. Exp. Loss/shr USD 0.12 and Q4 revenue USD 2.4bln vs Exp. USD 2.43bln
Biogen (BIIB) – Q4 Adj. EPS USD 5.04 vs. Exp. USD 4.97 and Q4 revenue USD 2.87bln vs. Exp. USD 2.95bln
Bristol Myers (BMY) – Q4 EPS USD 0.63 vs. Exp. USD 0.66 and Q4 revenue USD 5.20bln vs. Exp. USD 5.15bln.
Caterpillar (CAT) – Q4 EPS USD 0.83 vs. Exp. USD 0.66 and Q4 revenue USD 9.6bln vs. Exp. USD 9.84bln.
Celgene (CELG) – Q4 EPS USD 1.61 vs. Exp. USD 1.60 and Q4 revenue USD 2.98bln vs. Exp. USD 3.01bln.
Comcast (CMCSA) – Q4 Adj. EPS USD 0.89 vs. Exp. USD 0.87 and Q4 revenue USD 21.0bln vs. Exp. USD 20.62bln. The Co. announce a 2-for-1 stock split and have increased their share buyback program to USD 12bln.
Crown Castle (CCI) – Q4 AFFO USD 406mln vs. Exp. USD 372mln Y/Y and Q4 revenue USD 1.03bln vs. Exp. USD 890mln.
Dow Chemical (Dow) – Q4 EPS USD 0.99 vs. Exp. USD 0.88 and Q4 revenue USD 13.0bln vs. Exp. USD 12.5bln.
eBay (EBAY) – Q4 Adj. EPS cont. ops. USD 0.54 vs. Exp. USD 0.53 and Q4 revenue USD 2.4bln vs. Exp. USD 2.4bln. They forecast Q1 Adj. EPS cont. ops. USD 0.46-0.48 vs. Exp. USD 0.50.
Ford (F) – Q4 EPS USD 0.30 vs. Exp. USD 0.35bln and Q4 revenue USD 36.0bln vs. Exp. USD 35.6bln.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) – Q4 EPS USD 0.62 vs. Exp. USD 0.65 and Q4 revenue USD 3.08bln vs. Exp. USD 3.15bln.
McKesson (MCK) – Q3 Adj. EPS UDS 3.03 vs. Exp. USD 2.96 and Q3 revenue USD 50.1bln vs. Exp. USD 50.5bln.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) – Q4 EPS USD 2.96 vs. Exp. USD 2.49 and Q4 revenue USD 6.4bln vs. Exp. USD 5.98bln.
Praxair (PX) – Q4 EPS USD 1.41 vs. Exp. USD 1.41 and Q4 revenue USD 2.64bln vs. Exp. USD 2.67bln. Furthermore, the Co. boost their dividend by 5%.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) – Q1 EPS UDS 1.19 vs. Exp. USD 1.18 and Q1 revenue USD 5.99bln vs. Exp. USD 6.12bln.
Raytheon (RTN) – Q4 Adj. EPS Cont Ops USD 1.88 vs. Exp. USD 1.87 and Q4 revenue USD 6.2bln vs. Exp. USD 6.56bln.
Rogers Communications (RCI) – Q4 CAD 0.74 vs. Exp. CAD 0.52 and Q4 revenue CAD 3.51bln vs. Exp. CAD 3.55bln.
Sherwin Williams (SHW) – Q4 EPS USD 2.15 vs. Exp. USD 2.21 and Q4 revenue USD 2.78bln vs. Exp. USD 2.69bln.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Q4 EPS USD 0.75 vs. Exp. USD 0.69 and Q4 revenue USD 5.08bln vs. Exp. USD 5.03bln
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) – Q4 EPS USD 0.35 vs. Exp. USD 0.26.
Western Digital (WDC) – Q2 Adj. EPS USD 2.30 vs. Exp. USD 2.12 and Q2 net revenue USD 4.89bln vs. Exp. USD 4.76bln.

US Equity Upgrades
BANC OF CALIFORNIA (BANC) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT FBR CAPITAL
CENTRAL PACIFIC (CPF) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT COMPASS POINT
CLOVIS (CLVS) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT PIPER JAFFRAY
GAP AIRPORTS (PAC) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
GRAINGER (GWW) UPGRADED TO HOLD FROM SELL AT DEUTSCHE BANK
INTERNATIONAL PAPER (IP) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT CITI
MERITOR (MTOR) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT STIFEL
MSC INDUSTRIAL (MSM) UPGRADED TO HOLD FROM SELL AT DEUTSCHE BANK
POSCO (PKX) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
RPC, INC. (RES) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GUGGENHEIM
SCIENTIFIC GAMES (SGMS) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM UNDERPERFORM AT BOFA/MERRILL
UNITED RENTALS (URI) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT AVONDALE
WABASH (WNC) UPGRADED TO HOLD FROM SELL AT STIFEL
WASHINGTON TRUST (WASH) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT COMPASS POINT
WGL HOLDINGS (WGL) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT UBS

US Equity Downgrades
ARCTIC CAT (ACAT) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT JEFFERIES
CODEXIS (CDXS) DOWNGRADED TO EQUALWEIGHT
FROM OVERWEIGHT AT FIRST ANALYSIS
HOPE BANCORP (HOPE) DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT KEEFE BRUYETTE
INTERNATIONAL GAME (IGT) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT BOFA/MERRILL
JOHNSON & JOHNSON (JNJ) DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT WELLS FARGO
NAVIOS MARITIME MIDSTREAM (NAP) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT CITI
VARIAN MEDICAL (VAR) DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM HOLD AT EVERCORE ISI

US Equity Initiations
ACTELION (ALIOF) REINSTATED WITH A HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
AFLAC (AFL) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT CITI
AGREE REALTY (ADC) INITIATED WITH A MARKET PERFORM AT WELLS FARGO
AMERICAN EQUITY (AEL) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT CITI
AMERIPRISE (AMP) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI
CNO (CNO) FINANCIAL INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT CITI
COGNEX (CGNX) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN
CONDUENT (CNDT) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI
EQT GP (EQGP) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT JANNEY CAPITAL
EQT MIDSTREAM PARTNERS (EQM) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT JANNEY CAPITAL
LINCOLN NATIONAL (LNC) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI
METLIFE (MET) INITIATED WITH A SELL AT CITI
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL (PFG) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT CITI
REALOGY (RLGY) INITIATED WITH A HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
REINSURANCE GROUP (RGA) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI
RSA INSURANCE (RSNAY) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
UNUM GROUP (UNM) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI
VOYA FINANCIAL (VOYA) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT CITI