Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Eric Platt

NASDAQ

Wednesday continues a busy earnings week, while data streams out of Asia and Europe. Nonetheless it will be a relatively quiet day, as Groupon, Time Warner, and Visa report. There are no major economic reports scheduled for release in the U.S., although mortgage applications will be announced.
Here's what you need to know.

• Japan starts the day off early with bank lending at 6:50 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening. Bank lending is seen expanding by 0.6 percent in January from year-ago levels.
• At midnight EST, the Pacific nation remains in the light when economic outlook is released. The Eco Watchers survey, which measure both outlook and present conditions, is expected to show improvement across both metrics. Outlook is seen moving 90 basis points higher to 45.5. A reading above 50 indicates optimism. 
• Announcements move to Europe at 1:45 a.m. EST, when Switzerland releases unemployment data. The seasonally adjusted reading is forecast to remain at 3.1 percent.
• At 2:00 a.m. German exports will be released, with expectations for the headline number to decline 1.0 percent after a 2.5 percent gain in November. Imports are seen expanding by 0.8 percent in December.
• French Business sentiment is forecast to remain flat at 96 for January. The Bank of France will make the announcement at 2:30 a.m. EST. 
• Industrial production figures will be released for Spain and Turkey at 3:00 a.m. EST. Spain's output is seen 5.7 percent below year-ago levels, while Turkey sees a 2.8 percent increase from its December 2010 reading.
• Also at 3:00 a.m., the Czech Republic will announce unemployment. The jobless rate is forecast to increase to 9.1 percent in January from an 8.6 reading in the preceding period.
• Chile's Consumer Price Index will be released at 6:00 a.m. EST. Economists polled by Bloomberg expect CPI to increase 0.2 percent month-on-month in January, following a 0.6 percent jump in December. Brazilian CPI will follow later in the day.
• The only major U.S. announcement on the docket is MBA mortgage applications, which will be released at 7:00 a.m. EST. Mortgage applications last fell by 2.9 percent when data was announced.
• Closing out the day are early data releases in Asia and the Pacific, which could impact after-hours trading in the U.S. At 4:00 p.m. EST, South Korean PPI is scheduled for release, with New Zealand unemployment following at 4:45 p.m. EST. The jobless rate is seen declining 10 basis points to 6.5 percent in fourth quarter of 2011. 

U.S. corporates reporting quarterly results on Wednesday include names like Groupon, Time Warner, and Visa. Below, a roundup of tomorrow's big announcers.

Virgin Media (VMED): $0.15
Time Warner (TWX): $0.87
Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): $0.77
Moody's (MCO): $0.49
Reynolds American (RAI): $0.69
Madison Square Garden (MSG): $0.24
CVS Caremark (CVS): $0.89
Sprint Nextel (S): -$0.38
Ralph Lauren (RL): $1.67
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): $1.69
Computer Sciences (CSC): $0.58
News Corp (NWSA): $0.34
Fidelity National Financial (FNF): $0.19
Cisco Systems (CSCO): $0.43
O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY): $0.85
Plains All American Pipeline (PAA): $1.50
Whole Foods Market (WFM): $0.60
Visa (V): $1.45
Prudential Financial (PRU): $1.76
Fifth Street Finance (FSC): $0.28
TripAdvisor (TRIP): $0.24
Wyndham Worldwide (WYN): $0.44
Level 3 Communications (LVLT): -$1.09
Groupon (GRPN): $0.03

Consensus estimates provided by Bloomberg.