Economy
Crude oil has somewhat bounced back today after plunging 6.6% yesterday and was +2.7% at $51.79 at the time of writing. Historically high stockpiles in the U.S. and increased production in Saudi Arabia caused Wednesday's drubbing. "While we expect U.S. oil supply to tighten later in 2015, the supply response will be milder and shorter-lived than previously thought," ANZ Bank says. Nomura analyst Alastair Newton says Saudi Arabia's determination to protect its market share "shows no sign of easing despite the fiscal consequences."

German exports recovered smartly in February, growing 1.5% on month after falling 2.1% in January and beating consensus of +1%. Imports increased 1.8% following a decline of 0.2% and the trade surplus rose to €19.7B from €19.6B. Meanwhile, industrial production increased 0.2% on month, as expected, after slipping 0.4%. The figures come after data yesterday showed that factory output weakened in February, although PMI readings in March were strong.

Stocks
Veteran LaFarge executive Eric Olsen will become CEO of the cement giant that will be created from the $44B merger of his current company with Holcim (OTCPK:HCMLF). Olsen, who is 51, is LaFarge's (OTCPK:LFRGY) executive VP for operations and is responsible for countries that include France, the U.S., Brazil and Egypt. Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont had been slated to head LaFargeHolcim but the proposal ran into trouble with shareholders.

European stocks were higher at the time of writing following the positive German data and yesterday's release of the FOMC minutes, which provided little clarity on when the Fed might hike rates but were deemed sufficiently dovish. Reports about Greece's €450M repayment to the IMF has also added to the positive sentiment. In Asia, Hong Kong stocks had another banner day as investors looked to exploit cheap prices in relation to the mainland.

Zynga shares plunged 11% premarket following news that controversial founder/chairman Mark Pincus is returning as CEO of the social/mobile game developer to replace Don Mattrick, who is resigning after less than two years in the job. It was only last year that Pincus stepped down from an operational role at the Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA).

Samsung Electronics expects to ship record numbers of its new Galaxy S6 smartphone after it goes on sale tomorrow, but will have problems fulfilling demand for the curved-edged version due to difficulties in manufacturing the screens. The hope is that the launch of the flagship device will help spark a turnaround at Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) following a slump in earnings over the past year or so.

Alcoa swung to a net profit of $195M from a loss of $178M a year earlier, boosted by a recovery in the aluminum company's smelting division and a shift in focus to value-added businesses such as automotive and aerospace. Adjusted EPS of $0.28 beat forecasts but revenue dissapointed despite rising 6.8% to $5.82B, helping to send shares 2.6% lower premarket.

Universal Pictures has raked in $1B at the global box office at its fastest rate ever, thanks largely to early hits such as "Fifty Shades of Grey" and the surprising runaway success of racing tentpole "Furious 7." The previous record for the $1B mark for the studio, a division of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), was May 31 in 2013.

Today's Markets:

In Asia, Japan +0.8% to 19938. Hong Kong +2.7% to 26944. China -0.9% to 3959. India +0.6% to 28885.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.6%. Paris +0.8%. Frankfurt +0.4%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.2%. Nasdaq -0.3%. Crude +2.7% to $51.79. Gold -0.4% to $1197.90.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -1 bps to 1.89%.

Today's economic calendar:

Chain Store Sales
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Wholesale Trade
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:00 PM Results of $13B, 30-Year Note Auction
11:00 Mario Draghi Speech
3:40 PM Fed's Williams: Economic Outlook
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet

Notable earnings before today's open: STZ, SYRG, WBA

Notable earnings after today's close: ANGO, PSMT, RT