Overnight Markets and News
Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM18 +0.55%) this morning are up +0.62% and European stocks are little changed, down -0.13%, on speculation there will be no retaliation by Russia to the U.S., French and UK airstrikes and missile attacks against Syrian chemical weapons installations late Friday night. May WTI crude oil (CLK18 -1.14%) fell -1.04% and government debt prices tumbled on reduced safe-haven demand as no immediate fall-out was expected from the weekend strikes on Syria. The 10-year T-note yield rose to a 3-week high of 2.86% and the German 10-year bund yield rose to a 3-week high of 0.55%. UN ambassador Haley said Sunday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin will announce new sanctions today against Russia that “go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment” related to Syria’s chemical weapons program. Asian stocks settled mixed: Japan +0.26%, Hong Kong -1.60%, China -1.53%, Taiwan -0.10%, Australia +0.21%, Singapore -0.12%, South Korea +0.10%, India +0.33%. Chinese stocks closed lower, led by losses in bank stocks, after Reuters reported the PBOC may remove the current ceiling for commercial banks’ deposit interest rates, which could cause the net interest margin at banks to narrow and reduce their profits.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.05%) is down -0.28%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD +0.33%) is up +0.25%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY -0.05%) is down -0.10%.
Jun 10-year T-note prices (ZNM18 -0-075) are down -7.5 ticks at a 3-week low.
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari said fiscal stimulus is “big enough” to have an effect on the trajectory of the economy and has him more confident the Fed will achieve its 2% inflation objective, which will allow the Fed to raise interest raises sooner rather than later.
U.S. Stock Preview
Key U.S. news today includes: (1) Mar retail sales (expected +0.4% and +0.2% ex autos, Feb -0.1% and +0.2% ex autos), (2) Apr Empire manufacturing survey general business conditions index (expected -3.9 to 18.6, Mar +9.4 to 22.5), (3) Feb business inventories (expected +0.6%, Jan +0.6%), (4) Apr NAHB housing market index (expected unchanged at 70, Mar -1 to 70), (5) USDA weekly grain export inspections, (6) Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (voter) speaks on the economy and rural market trends to the Shoals Chamber of Commerce in Florence, Alabama, (7) USDA weekly Crop Progress.
