THURSDAY 2/19/15; NIKK 15-Year Record High; Greece Bailout Drama; ECB Minutes; WMT; BCC; HRL; RS; UPL; Philly Fed Survey; Leading Indicators; SPX, RUT and AAPL All-Time Highs; COMPQ 15-Year High; ED; JWN; MHK; NEM

The Lunar New Year celebrations are underway in Asia with China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia markets closed. Japan is open for trading and the NIKK begins the session up +0.4% moving towards new record highs. Australia’s SPASX200 drops -0.2% out of the gate.

S&P futures are flat. Dow -12. Nasdaq +1. Euro 1.1402. Dollar/yen 118.79. Pound 1.5438. Aussie dollar 0.7811. US oil inventory data is larger than expected sending oil prices lower. WTIC oil 50.69. Brent oil 60.53. Natural gas 2.82. Gold 1214. Silver 16.55. Copper 2.61.

US Treasury yields are; 2-year 0.60%, 5-year 1.52%, 10-year 2.08%, 30-year 2.70%.

Japan prints a new record 15-year high at 18323 at












[Text is Redacted: Purchase February 2015-02 to Read the Complete Chronology]

























 top line sales miss was significant. Rocket Fuel blows up on the launch pad with FUEL collapsing -20% after missing on earnings and providing lower guidance.

ED gains +4% after reporting earnings so the utilities sector may see a lift tomorrow. FTR gains +0.9% after reporting a profit. INTU gains +2% despite reporting a loss. Key housing sector bellwether MHK bounces +2.2% after beating on profit forecasts. Gold miner fave NEM bounces +1.3% after reporting earnings. Biopharma XNPT gains +5.2% after earnings. Offshore driller PGN leaps +8% after reporting earnings.

The West Coast ports shut down after the unions decide to meet which they are permitted to do under their contract. Dock operators close the ports due to the work stoppage. The West Coast ports are in chaos with the situation starting to spin out of control.

Traders are expecting the Greece dilemma to resolve favorably possibly tomorrow. Stocks remain buoyant since traders anticipate happy news. The meetings on the Greece bailout package begin at 9 AM EST so news bites, good or bad, should occur during the morning trading hours.