Futures Modestly Lower on China Fears, Italy Downgrade
U.S. equity futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade following weaker than expected industrial production and inflation data from China.
Industrial production grew 9.9 percent in February from a year ago, less than the forecasted 10.3 percent gain, and CPI inflation grew faster than expected. Combined, the data raised new fears that the PBOC would tighten policy earlier than expected even as output indicators slow in order to cool inflation.
Top News
In other news around the markets:
Asian Markets
Asian shares were mixed overnight as Chinese shares lagged on the weak economic data released over the weekend. The Japanese Nikkei Index rose 0.53 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.34 percent while the Hang Seng Index was flat. Also, the Korean Kospi fell 0.13 percent and Australian shares rose 0.46 percent.
European Markets
European shares were mostly lower following Fitch’s late-day downgrade of Italy to BBB+ on Friday. The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.75 percent and the Italian FTSE MIB Index declined 0.76 percent with banks falling over 3 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.21 percent and the French CAC fell 0.33 percent while U.K. shares were flat.
Commodities
Commodities were lower as oil fell following the Chinese data. WTI Crude futures fell 0.39 percent to $91.59 per barrel and Brent Crude futures fell 0.72 percent to $110.04 per barrel. Copper futures fell 0.64 percent to $348.70 per pound also due to the weakness in China but also on some weak manufacturing data in Japan. Gold was higher and silver futures fell 0.06 percent to $28.93 per ounce.
Currencies
Currency markets were quiet overnight as the yen weakened slightly. The EUR/USD was flat at 1.3005 and the dollar rose against the yen to 96.11. Overall, the Dollar Index rose 0.03 percent on strength against the yen, the pound, and the Swedish krone. Notably, the only real mover overnight was the yen with other major crosses trading near flat.
Pre-Market Movers
Stocks moving in the pre-market included:
Earnings
Notable companies expected to report earnings Monday include:
Economics
On the economics calendar Monday, the Treasury is expected to auction 3-month and 6-month bills. Overnight, German inflation, British industrial production, and Spanish and Italian bill auctions could move markets.
Good luck and good trading.
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Tags: British Industrial Production, China Industrial Production, Chinese Auto Sales, Chinese Economy, Chinese Inflation, Fitch Ratings, German Inflation, German Trade Balance, Italian Bill Auction, Italian GDP, italy, Spanish Bill Auction, U.S. Bill Auction
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