Global Market Wrap:
European Equities Cannot Move S&P
Equity Futures: Dow +7.00. S&P +0.80. NASDAQ -0.25. Japanese Nikkei -7.00. German DAX +3.00.
European Trade: The European cash markets advanced around the opening bell, but S&P futures traded in mixed fashion, forming a swing point high in the 1145.00 area that looks to be solid resistance in the near-term.
The regional European indexes have averaged moves of 0.60% in Thursday morning as the two heavyweight sectors, banking and basic materials added important points. However, S&P futures have failed to follow this uptrend, even though Nikkei futures gained hard after losing a few points in the overnight cash market. This divergence between the cash and futures markets might be caused by the upcoming macroeconomic calendar, which includes the ECB’s interest rate decision, U.S. Retail Sales and Unemployment numbers.
The decisions today by the European Central Bank will be reflected in the financial market over the coming period, as the market adjusts fair value on forward growth prospects. Investors will focus on hints that could pinpoint the period when the ECB will begin to raise rates, but the treat of anemic regional growth will also be an important factor.
In European trade, the German DAX gained 0.55%, the U.K. FTSE rose 0.60%, while Norway’s OBX index rose 1.20%. Belgium’s and Slovenia’s shares were the only ones that declined in early trade. Among sectors, banks and basic materials added the most points. Basic materials continue to be in the spotlight for a second consecutive day, after the same sector gave strong support to the equity market in the previous session.
Rio Tinto was in high demand on Thursday, after a report showed that the company had increased its iron ore output by almost 50%, beating most estimates. Rio Tinto advanced 2.20%, being among the top gainers in the U.K. FTSE index. ArcelorMittal advanced 1.50% in France’s CAC 40 index, on BNP’s rating upgrade. Also in the CAC 40 index, GDF Suez fell 2.5%, being the worst performer in the index, after the company was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by BofA’s analysts.
Upcoming Economic Moves:
07:45 EST Eur Min. Bid Rate Exp 1.0%, Prev 1.0%
08:30 EST Eur Int. Rate Press Conf
08:30 EST Usd Retail Sales. Exp 0.4%, Prev 1.3%
Crude oil was recently trading at $80.35 per barrel, higher by $0.65
Gold was recently trading up by $2.40 to $1139.20.
TheLFB Trade Plan of the Day is one of the six that are available to members on the major pairs each day, plus four Jpy based cross pairs, as well as S&P futures, oil, gold, and the dollar index.
