Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Lower

US index futures are lower this morning as talks between Greece and its bondholders continue for a third day. Bloomberg News cites a Greek newspaper as saying that a voluntary swap of Greek bonds has been agreed to, but there is no official word yet. European markets are lower this morning, but Asian markets are up following decent earnings reports in the US. The latest PMI number out of China is also higher, which is also boosting Asian equities.

At about 8:30 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -0.18% at 6,404.82 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.52%, at 3,311.59. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.07%, at 5,737.27.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 0.84%, at 20,110.40. The Nikkei index closed up 1.47%, at 8,766.36, and the Shanghai index closed up 1%, at 2,319.12.

Dow futures are down -0.12%, at 12,572.00. The Nasdaq 100 is up 0.05%, at 2,426.5 and the S&P is down -0.26%, at 1,307.00.

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 0.358% at 80.343.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are lower this morning, with WTI down -0.49% at $99.90/barrel and Brent down -0.23% at $111.292/barrel. Gold is down -0.47% this morning, at $1,646.80/ounce.

Paul Ausick