Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Lower

US index futures are lower this morning following a statement by the head of Fitch Ratings’ sovereign debt group. He warned that “time is running out” for the European Central Bank to conclude a deal with Greece’s bondholders. The threat of a collapsing euro is weighing on European markets this morning. Asian markets finished up this morning, riding the coattails of yesterday’s US markets.

At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -0.06% at 6,159.11 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.05%, at 3,209.21. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.55%, at 5,665.09.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 0.78%, at 19,151.90. The Nikkei index closed up 0.30%, at 8,447.88, and the Shanghai index closed down -0.42%, at 2,276.05.

Dow futures are down -0.13%, at 12,374.00. The Nasdaq 100 is down -0.15%, at 2,360.00 and the S&P is down -0.19%, at 1,283.60.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is up about 0.347% at 81.18.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are both lower this morning, with WTI down -0.48% at $101.75/barrel and Brent down -0.11% at $113.15/barrel. Gold is also higher this morning, at $1,640.30/ounce.

Paul Ausick