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Equities are showing resilience as the major averages trade near their respective highs. The S&P 500 is firmer by 0.9% after yesterday's sell-off caused the benchmark index to lose over 1.0%. Today's advance comes as European indices enjoy a rebound session of their own. Italy's MIB and Spain's IBEX are seeing respective gains of 0.9% and 2.2%. Meanwhile, exchange traded funds which track the performance of Italian and Spanish stocks are trading higher as well. The iShares MSCI Italy Index (EWI 13.65, +0.19) is adding 1.4% while iShares MSCI Spain Index (EWP 30.46, +0.83) is higher by 2.8%.

Today's rebound effort is being led by consumer staples with the sector adding in excess of 1.0%. Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM 29.65, +1.21) is contributing to the relative strength as the food producer trades higher by 4.3% after beating on earnings and revenue. Also of note, Kellogg (K 59.26, +1.16) is rising 2.0% after beating on revenue.

The day's earnings did not paint a fully upbeat picture. Yum! Brands (YUM 61.77, -2.17) is slipping 3.4% after the company's guidance failed to inspire investor confidence. However, the discretionary sector is trading in-line with the broader market as the space looks past the cloudy outlook provided by Yum!.

Recent headlines from Washington indicate President Obama will make a statement at 13:15 ET. The president is expected to seek a delay of automatic spending cuts and to offer a short-term budget proposal during his remarks.DJ30 +123.14 NASDAQ +31.35 SP500 +14.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1778/730.8 mln/545 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2170/194.9 mln/700

10:35 am : Commodities are mixed today with energy higher and metals mostly lower. Precious metals sold off in recent activity, pulling gold futures down to a new session low and silver back to its current session low. Apr gold is currently -0.3% at $1670.90/oz, while Mar silver is +0.1% at $31.75/oz.

Crude oil futures have been in positive territory all morning and rose as high as $97.07/barrel. The Mar crude oil contract is now +0.8% at $96.89/barrel.

Natural gas futures have been in positive territory all session so far and are showing nice gains. After twice moving back down near the unchanged line, Mar nat gas futures are +0.8% at $3.34/MMBtu.DJ30 +122.69 NASDAQ +28.64 SP500 +14.12 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1700/598.1 mln/552 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2168/167 mln/683

10:00 am : The major averages saw little reaction to the latest ISM Services Index. The S&P 500 is adding 0.8%.

The January ISM Services Index was reported at 55.2, short of the 55.6 forecast by the Briefing.com consensus, and down from December's reading of 56.1.DJ30 +108.40 NASDAQ +13.95 SP500 +11.20 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1574/298.5 mln/585 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2087/107.1 mln/659

09:45 am : The major averages are trading near their highs in the early going. The S&P 500 is adding 0.6%. The upbeat open follows yesterday selloff sparked by renewed worries about Italy and Spain.

In the U.S., earnings continue pouring in with results painting a mixed picture. Automaker Toyota Motor (TM 98.77, +0.94) is adding 1.0% after reporting strong quarterly results.

On the downside, Yum! Brands (YUM 60.31, -3.63) is sliding 5.6% after its earnings beat included a profit warning.

In acquisition news, Dell (DELL 13.27, 0.00) has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Michael Dell-Silver Lake for $13.65 per share. The deal includes a $2 billion loan from Microsoft (MSFT 27.44, -0.15).

January ISM Services Index will be released at 10:00 ET.DJ30 +84.41 NASDAQ +10.99 SP500 +9.09 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1504/164.1 mln/557 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1999/73.4 mln/685

09:13 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +4.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.20. Heading into the open, equity futures are signaling a higher start to the session. The S&P 500 futures are adding 0.5%.

The U.S. market is poised to stage a rebound after registering its worst session of the year yesterday. Upbeat European trade is contributing to the positive sentiment as indices across the old continent trade near their session highs.

This morning's earnings have painted a mixed picture. Notably, Yum! Brands (YUM 59.65, -4.29) is sliding 6.7% after its earnings report contained cautious full-year 2013 bottom line guidance.

In today's economic data, the January ISM Services Index will be released at 10:00 ET.

08:59 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.00.

U.S. equity futures remain firmly in the black with the S&P 500 futures up 0.4%.

The major Asian bourses ended mostly lower as the political controversies across Europe weighed on sentiment. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-2.3%) and Japan's Nikkei (-1.9%) were hit the hardest due to their exposure to the region. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite (+0.2%) outperformed following the best reading in four months for HSBC Services PMI (54 actual v. 51.7 previous). The Reserve Bank of Australia opined overnight, opting to hold its key rate steady at 3.00%, but indicated the inflation picture gives scope for further easing. Data out overnight was heavy with Australia's trade deficit (-AUD0.43 billion actual v. -AUD0.81 billion expected, -AUD2.79 billion previous) and Home Price Index (1.6% quarter-over-quarter actual v. 0.3% expected) topping estimates. Elsewhere, Indonesia's GDP slipped to 6.11% year-over-year (6.20% expected, 6.17% previous), India's HSBC Services PMI climbed to 57.5 (55.6 previous), Taiwan's CPI cooled to 1.15% year-over-year (1.6% previous), and the Philippines' CPI jumped to 0.5% month-over-month (-0.1% expected).

In Japan, the Nikkei shed 1.9%, falling for the first time in six days. Panasonic jumped another 3.9%, adding to Monday's gains that developed following the company announcing better than expected earnings. Elsewhere, heavyweight Fast Retailing fell 3.2% after same-store sales posted a 5.5% year-over-year decline.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.3% to post its biggest loss in three months. Refining giant Sinopec tumbled 6.4% after announcing it will raise HKD24 bln through a share sale. Meanwhile, European names were hit as retailer Esprit dropped 2.1% and HSBC shed 2.7%.
In China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.2% to end with its seventh day of gains. Rail stocks were strong after reports suggested Beijing was considering a plan for 120 ports. China Railway Construction rallied 4.8% while CSR and CNR both jumped the maximum 10%.

European markets are off their highs as regional indices rebound from yesterday's weakness. Looking at notable economic data points, Eurozone economies reported their respective Services PMI readings. Most reports came in ahead of analyst expectations, but Italy's reading of 43.9 was well short of the 45.8 expected by the market. In aggregate, regional PMI reports produced a Eurozone reading of 48.6, slightly better than the expected 48.3. Meanwhile, Eurozone retail sales slipped 0.8% month-over-month, which was worse than the generally expected downtick of 0.5%. In news, German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the country's objective should be to boost competitiveness rather than weaken the euro.

Germany's DAX is adding 0.1% with financials outperforming. Muenchener Re is higher by 2.3% after the insurer hiked its quarterly dividend 12.0% to EUR7 per share. On the downside, exporters are lagging. Volkswagen is down 1.0%.
The United Kingdom's FTSE is advancing 0.5% as financials pace the day's gains. Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the index leaders as it trades higher by 4.6%. Additionally, ARM Holdings is rising 4.0% after reporting strong earnings.
France's CAC is higher by 0.9% with utilities registering notable gains. GDF Suez and Veolia Environnement are both up near 2.0%.
Italy's MIB is firmer by 1.0% as banks rebound from yesterday's selloff. Banca Monte dei Paschi and Unicredit are seeing respective gains of 4.2% and 3.2%.
In Spain, the IBEX trades with a gain of 1.5% as Banco Santander leads the 35-stock index. The financial is adding 2.7%.

08:31 am : [BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.00. Equity futures have slipped off their early highs but they remain firmly in the black. The S&P 500 futures are adding 0.4% as the market is poised to rebound from yesterday's broad weakness.

The fourth quarter earnings season has conditioned the market to expect a mixed batch of reports. The story is no different today. Semiconductor manufacturer ARM Holdings (ARMH 43.92, +1.97) is rising 4.7% after reporting in-line earnings and beating on revenue.

On the downside, Yum! Brands (YUM 59.99, -3.95) is sliding 6.2% after the company said it expects full-year 2013 earnings to decline from 2012 levels.

Today's economic data will be limited to the January ISM Services Index. This report will be released at 10:00 ET.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.20.

U.S. equity futures are near their pre-market highs as European indices rebound from yesterday's selloff which saw Italy's MIB and Spain's IBEX lose 4.5% and 3.8% respectively. The S&P 500 futures are adding 0.5%.

Looking at overseas developments:

Asian markets finished on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite added 0.2% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.3%, and Japan's Nikkei shed 1.9%.
In economic data:
China's HSBC Services PMI was reported at 54.0, ahead of prior month's reading of 51.7.
The Reserve Bank of Australia held its key interest rate unchanged at 3.00%.
Australian house price index rose 1.6% quarter-over-quarter, while an increase of 0.3% was broadly expected. Meanwhile, the country's trade deficit was reported at AUD0.43 billion, better than the deficit of 0.80 billion expected by the market.
India's HSBC Services PMI came in at 57.5, better than the generally expected reading of 55.6.
Looking at news:
China's National Bureau of Statistics said the country will widen its PMI sample in order to better reflect manufacturing conditions.
Shanghai Daily reported China's 2012 crude oil consumption rose 4.9% year-over-year, to 476.1 million tons.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will step down three weeks earlier than expected. The governor is now scheduled to depart on March 19.

European markets are near their highs as trade nears midday. Germany's DAX is adding 0.3%, United Kingdom's FTSE is rising 0.7% while France's CAC is higher by 1.1%. On the periphery, Italy's MIB and Spain's IBEX are seeing respective gains of 1.3% and 1.8%.
Looking at notable economic data points:
This morning, Eurozone economies reported their respective Services PMI readings. Most reports came in ahead of analyst expectations. However, Italy's reading of 43.9 was well short of the 45.8 expected by the market. In aggregate, regional PMI reports produced a Eurozone reading of 48.6, slightly better than the expected 48.3.
Eurozone retail sales slipped 0.8% month-over-month, which was worse than the generally expected downtick of 0.5%.
In news:
German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the country's objective should be to boost competitiveness rather than weaken the euro.
Germany's DAX is underperforming amid relative weakness in the shares of Bayer as well as auto exporters.
Italian and Spanish markets are rebounding from yesterday's losses with financials in the lead.

http://finance.yahoo.com/marketupdate/update