Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Lower

US index futures are lower this morning as discussions between Greece and its bondholders continue to work on the debt swap deal. The Greek government is feeling the pinch as a German official has called for an outside authority to oversee the country’s budget. That will not go down well with ordinary citizens, or indeed the government. Lower US spending in December is raising some deflationary concerns, and in Asia, the Shanghai exchange re-opened after a week-long new year holiday by posting a loss, as investors did not get the easing they had expected from the Chinese government.

At about 8:45 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -1.07% at 6,442.29 and France’s CAC 40 is down -1.30%, at 3,275.61. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -1.04%, at 5,673.78.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -1.66%, at 20,160.40 and the Nikkei index closed down -0.54%, at 8,793.05. The Shanghai exchange closed down -1.47%, at 2,285.04.

Dow futures are down -0.82%, at 12,510.00. The Nasdaq 100 is down -0.84%, at 2,435.50 and the S&P is down -0.94%, at 1,300.10.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the British pound, the euro and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is up 0.658% at 79.355.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are lower this morning, with WTI down -0.68% at $98.88/barrel and Brent is down -0.23% at $111.20/barrel. Gold is down -0.43% this morning, at $1,722.80/ounce.

Paul Ausick