Updated throughout the day
February 17, 2016 5:15 p.m. ET / February 18, 6:15 a.m. HKT
Va-va voom. The U.S. stock markets notched their third consecutive winning session, buoyed by rising oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrials gained 1.6% and the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, led by recent losers, including Twitter, Facebook, and Apple. No one seemed to care that the economic data came in mixed, with housing starts in January dipping to an annualized rate of 1.099 million, weaker than expected, but industrial production rose unexpectedly 0.9%. Also: At 6 p.m. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is speaking.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Ted Cruz edges out Donald Trump for GOP need for first time. In a new national poll, the Texas senator garnered 28% of support from likely voters vs. 26% for Trump. Florida Senator Marco Rubio came in third place with 17% and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush polled at a sickly 4%. Wall Street Journal
Federal Reserve meeting minutes show rising concern about economy. At the January 26-27 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement that the turmoil in markets meant “the outlook for domestic economic activity was unclear” and that “many saw these developments as increasing the downside risks to the outlook.” NexChange
Apple says it won’t hack terrorists’ phone. A U.S. Federal judge in California told Apple it must help the FBI unlock a phone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers who killed 14 people in a shooting spree last December. Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company would need to invent a hacking tool that would enable agents to unlock the phone while preserving the data. Normally, when someone tries unsuccessfully to unlock an iPhone too many times the device automatically erases all data. In a letter, Cook called the request “an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers.” Quartz
Oil futures jump 7.3% to $31.20 despite Iran’s stance on production. The Iranian oil minister told the official local news agency that they would allow oil prices to recover. Earlier, Iran had stated that it would not abide by a recent Opec-Russia agreement to freeze production. Iran is meeting Wednesday with Iraq, Venezuela and Qatar to discuss output limits. MarketWatch
Bond offerings revive even as Treasury prices slip. Treasury yields rose for the third straight day as oil prices rose. The rise in yields isn’t deterring corporations from issuing bonds after a two-week hiatus. Apple launched the action with a $12 billion sale on Tuesday afternoon. IBM and Comcast also sold investment grade bonds. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Asian markets finished mixed. Overnight oil prices buckled, the Chinese gave a lower yuan fix, and the yen rose, sending shockwaves across the region’s bourses. Dragged down by energy shares, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.03% and 1.36%, respectively, while China’s SHCOMP – buoyed by pledges from Beijing – wrapped up the day 1.08% higher.
European stocks close at day end highs. The FTSE 100 jumped 2.66%, closing higher for the third consecutive session. The weaklings led the gains: banks and oil companies. All the other major marts ended sharply higher as well. MarketWatch
T-mobile nearly triples earnings as it adds 2.1 million subscribers. Competitive prices drew in new subscribers big time in the final quarter of 2015. Marriott International reported 4Q earnings after the close, and sharply ratcheted down the earnings outlook for its first fiscal quarter. Fortune/StockTwits
China urges veto over naming US plaza after Liu Xiaobo, Beijing has urged the U.S. to veto a move to rename the street outside China’s embassy in Washington after jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, calling it a “political farce.” The Senate passed a bill to rename the square on Friday, but it still needs congress and presidential approval. BBC
Japan shelves plan to let pension fund directly invest in stocks. Japan’s government has put off a plan to let its $1.1 trillion public pension fund buy and sell stocks directly, following criticism that the move could lead to excessive state influence on the market. The decision dashes the hopes of the Government Pension Investment Fund’s chief investment officer and some foreign money managers who believed that a direct role in the stock market could make the fund a more effective investor and improve corporate governance in Japan. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
China deploys missiles on contested island. The Chinese military has apparently deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system on one of the contested islands in the South China Sea. Satellite imagery from ImageSat International (ISI) shows two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers as well as a radar system on Woody Island, a part of a chain of islands that the U.S. Navy destroyer sailed close to a few weeks ago. A U.S. official confirmed the accuracy of the photos, adding that they appear to show the HQ-9 air defense system, which boasts a range of 125 miles and closely resembles Russia’s S-300 missile system. Fox News
ICYMI
Kubota forecasts record profit on construction, farm equipment demand. Japanese machinery giant Kubota sees group net profit growing 4% for the year ending in December as strong North American construction machinery sales and robust Chinese demand for combines, combine. Profit for the fiscal year 2016 is poised to roll in at 155 billion yen ($1.36 billion), while sales are geared to grow 4% to 1.75 trillion yen ($15.32 billion). Nikkei Asian Review
Died: Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The U.N.’s sixth secretary general was 93. Boutros-Ghali was a leader in the Egyptian Foriegn Ministry for years before becoming secretary general of the U.N. in 1992. CNN
You won’t believe this…
No more Snickers bars for ISIS terrorists. The cash-strapped monsters also won’t be buying its adherents energy drinks or springing for honeymoons: Thanks to air strikes the so-called caliphate is cash-strapped and now accepting $500 to release hostages. New York Post
Photo: DonkeyHotey