US index futures can’t find much to get excited about one way or the other this morning. Debt downgrades to six European countries were no surprise last night, and a big jump in investor confidence in Germany hasn’t been enough to light a fire under futures traders. In Asia, Japan’s central bank added $128 billion to its asset purchase plan and set an inflation target of 1% for now. Today’s report on US retail sales is expected to be very good, up 0.7% and, excluding new car sales, up 0.5%.
At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is up 0.17% at 6,749.66 and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.08%, at 3,387.24. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.02%, at 5,904.70.
In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed up 0.15%, at 20,917.80 and the Nikkei index closed up 0.59%, at 9,052.07. The Shanghai exchange closed down -0.30%, at 2,344.77.
Dow futures are down -0.02%, at 12,833.00. The Nasdaq 100 is up 0.03%, at 2,568.50 and the S&P is down -0.05%, at 1,348.40.
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 0.04% at 79.170.
In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are mixed this morning, with WTI up 0.30% at $101.21/barrel and Brent is down -0.08% at $117.84/barrel. Gold is down -0.41% this morning, at $1,717.90/ounce.
Paul Ausick
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