OREANDA-NEWS. February 8, 2012. The US indices closed flat on Tuesday – rumours on ECB inclusion of Greek bonds to EFSF supported the market. S&P 500 Index added 0.2% while Russell was down by 0.12% with Utilities as the leaders (+0.69%) and Basic Materials as (+0.69%) as the laggards.

Consumer credit soared by 19.3 bn in December due to demand in auto and education sectors, above consensus forecast of a USD 7.1 bn rise.

Of 287 S&P 500 Index constituents the EPS of 196 and revenues of 159 companies beat expectations so far.

Asian markets mostly were rose on Wednesday. Hang Seng rose by 1.27%, Kospi was up by 1.12%, Japanese Nikkei added 1.1%. S&P/ASX 200 added 0.39%. Chinese indices up by 1.3 – 2.13. Investors appreciated the Chinese Central Bank decision to support first-time mortgage buyers.

German trade data, DOE weekly oil inventories will be in focus today.

Earnings season will go on in the US with 26 S&P 500 companies and 23 DJ stoxx companies to report.