Futures Flat on Earnings, Eye House Vote
U.S. equity futures were near unchanged overnight despite mostly positive earnings from large tech and transportation companies. Also, stocks await a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on raising the debt ceiling.
Top News
In other news around the markets:
Asian Markets
Asian shares were mixed overnight with strong weakness seen in Japanese equities overnight. The Japanese Nikkei Index fell 2.08 percent overnight while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.25 percent and the Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 percent. Also, the Korean Kospi fell 0.81 percent and Australian shares rose 0.18 percent.
European Markets
European shares were also mixed overnight with weakness in the periphery offset by strength in the core. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.25 percent and the Italian MIB Index also fell 0.25 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX rose 0.3 percent and the French CAC fell 0.08 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.19 percent.
Commodities
Commodities were mostly higher overnight, once again led by Natural Gas futures as the cold weather in the U.S. drives prices higher. WTI Crude futures rose 0.1 percent to $96.77 per barrel and Brent Crude futures rose 0.12 percent to $112.54 per barrel as Natural Gas futures rallied 0.67 percent to $3.58 per million BTU. Copper futures were near flat overnight despite positive comments from Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold’s (NYSE: FCX) CEO stating that he sees low copper inventories and accelerating demand in 2013. Gold was slightly lower and silver futures rose 0.07 percent to $32.20 per ounce.
Currencies
Currency markets continued to see yen strength Wednesday as the euro was near flat overnight and the pound rallied after selling off late Tuesday on comments that the U.K. is mulling more stimulus. The EUR/USD was slightly higher at 1.3328 and the dollar fell against the yen to 88.35. Overall, the Dollar Index fell 0.14 percent on weakness against the yen, the pound, and the Canadian dollar.
Pre-Market Movers
Stocks moving in the pre-market included:
Earnings
Notable companies expected to report earnings Wednesday include:
Economics
On the economics calendar Wednesday, it is the first full day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, so look for comments from Davos all day. Also, MBA Purchase Application and the FHFA House Price Index are set to be released. In addition, the Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills and overnight, the Chinese HSBC Manufacturing Index, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI’s, and Italian retail sales are expected.
Good luck and good trading.
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Tags: British Prime Minister David Cameron, Chinese HSBC Manufacturing Index, Davos, Earnings, Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, FHFA House Price Index, Greece Budget Deficit, Spain GDP, U.S. House of Representatives, World Economic Forum
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