Stocks Run Win Streak To Fourth Week As Oil Recovery Continues

Stocks ended the week higher for a fourth week in a row, as did the price of oil, after the ECB came through with easing plans that were met with a positive reaction after a one-day delay.

MACRO NEWS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims fell to 259,000 in the week ended March 5, versus expectations for 275,000 first-time claims. In China, the consumer price index rose 2.3% in February from a year earlier, versus expectations for them to be up 1.8%. The producer price index fell 4.9%, matching the consensus forecast. Import prices slid 0.3% in February, which was not as weak as the 0.7% decline that was forecast. Export prices were down 0.4% last month, which was also a bit better than the 0.5% decline that was expected...

West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rose 1.7% to settle at $38.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday after the International Energy Agency said it now believes non-OPEC output will fall by 750,000 barrels per day in 2016, which is above its prior call for a 600,000 bpd reduction. Friday's advance gave oil futures a 7.2% gain for the week, marking the commodity's fourth weekly gain in a row...

In remarks made Monday, dovish Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard argued for policy patience and warned of downside risks amid a "concerning" drop in inflation expectations, while vice chairman Stanley Fischer spoke of the first stirrings of rising inflation and noted that the Fed would prefer to avoid negative rates...

In Europe, the ECB cut the interest rate on the main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem by 5 basis points to 0.00%, lowered the rate on its deposit facility by 10 basis points to -0.40%, said it will expand monthly purchases under its asset purchase program to EUR 80B starting in April and announced that investment grade euro-denominated corporate bonds will now be eligible for regular purchases. The ECB also said a new series of four targeted longer-term refinancing operations will be launched, starting in June. Though, in a press conference following the announcement, ECB President Mario Draghi signaled that the central bank does not anticipate cutting interest rates further. In other central bank news, the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rates unchanged, as expected. However, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised the market by unexpectedly cutting its main interest rate by 25 basis points to a record low 2.25%...

In China, the government laid out its economic targets following the annual meeting of the National People's Congress. Chinese officials set a goal for the economy to grow 6.5%-7% this year, lower than the "around 7%" target set in 2015. With regard to reforms, the government highlighted plans to reduce overcapacity, encourage innovation and improve productivity. The Asian nation's trade surplus narrowed to $32.59B in February, missing the $50.15B forecast. Exports tumbled 25.4% compared with a year ago, versus expectations for them to have fallen by 12.5%. Imports sank by 13.8%, versus the consensus forecast for a 10% drop.

COMPANY NEWS: Chevron (CVX), which had previously announced plans to cut its spending on production and exploration for this year by 24% to $26.6B, reported that it plans to also cut its 2017 capital spending to $17B-$22B, even more than the $20B-$24B range it previously targeted. Additionally, Chevron said that maintaining and growing its dividend "is the priority" for the company... Shares of a number of airlines slid Tuesday after American Airlines (AAL), United Continental (UAL), Delta (DAL) and JetBlue (JBLU) all said they expect their passenger unit revenue to decline to varying degrees in the near-term when compared to last year. Amid the downbeat revenue forecasts, United was also in focus after shareholders Altimeter Capital and PAR Capital announced their intention to mount a proxy contest to get their slate of nominees, led by former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune, elected to United's board...

In the latest move to expand its delivery capabilities, Amazon's (AMZN) Fulfillment Services unit signed a deal with Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), which will operate an air cargo network to serve Amazon customers in the United States. The commercial agreements will include the leasing of 20 Boeing 767 freighter aircraft. ATSG also agreed to grant Amazon warrants to acquire up to 19.9% of ATSG's common shares over a five year period. Following the news, Air Transport Services shares surged nearly 17% on Wednesday... Two of Detroit's "Big Three" carmakers announced plans that they hope will help them better compete in two areas that are rapidly changing the auto industry. General Motors (GM) agreed to acquire autonomous vehicle technology start-up Cruise Automation to accelerate its pursuit of self-driving cars, while Ford (F) reported plans for a new subsidiary, Smart Mobility, to build and invest in things like car-sharing and ride-hailing services.

In its annual report, German banking giant Deutsche Bank (DB) warned that the beginning of 2016 has seen volatility in the world's financial markets and that the "seasonally strong first quarter might turn out to be challenging for the sector overall." However, shares of Deutsche trading in New York rose about 7% on Friday in a delayed reaction to the ECB's easing. Many of its European banking peers rallied to close out the week as well... Among companies reporting earnings this week, Finisar (FNSR), Dollar General (DG), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Vera Bradley (VRA), Blue Buffalo (BUFF) and United Natural Foods (UNFI) rose immediately following their quarterly reports, while Square (SQ), Shake Shack (SHAK), Sunrun (RUN), and Zumiez (ZUMZ),declined after announcing their quarterly results...

On the M&A front, SunEdison (SUNE) advanced after Vivint Solar (VSLR) terminated its merger agreement with the company. Shares of Columbia Pipeline Group (CPGX) jumped in afternoon trading Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was in talks about potentially being taken over by TransCanada (TRP). The Canadian company subsequently acknowledged that is in discussions "regarding a potential transaction with a third party," without explicitly naming Columbia as the party. Then, Columbia's shares fell from their earlier highs after Bloomberg reported that the talks between the two were at a standstill. American Financial Group (AFG) proposed to acquire the remaining shares of National Interstate (NATL) it does not yet own and Marvell (MRVL) rose after the New York Post reported that the company is open to a sale... comScore (SCOR) shares crashed 33% on Monday after audience measurement services company delayed its annual report due to potential accounting matters. The company also postponed its investor day and suspended its share repurchase program...

Lumber Liquidators (LL) fell 15% on Tuesday after Kase Capital's Whitney Tilson, who has been critical of the company in the past, revealed he is once again shorting the stock. Tilson said much of his decision is tied to the CDC report linking the company's flooring products to cancer, which he believes will lead to even further sales deterioration...

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) gained 13.5% for the week after announcing Monday that its fourth quarter results will be released on March 15 and then, on Wednesday, appointing Pershing Square vice chairman Stephen Fraidin to its board along with two other new members.

INDEXES: The Dow gained about 1.2% to close at 17,213.31; the S&P 500 rose about 1.1% to close at 2,022.19; the Nasdaq advanced about 0.65% to close at 4,748.47.