Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Nearly Flat

US index futures are nearly flat this morning following last week’s Greek debt swap deal and the issuance this morning of new Greek debt, albeit at astronomical yields (more coverage here). In Europe, the Eurozone ministers meet today to discuss possible effects of last week’s Greek deal on Spain and, especially, Portugal. In Asia, more evidence came in today that the Chinese economy is slowing down. Chinese exports have fallen and factory orders are down.

At about 8:00 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is up 0.06% at 6,884.41 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.22%, at 3,479.84. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.17%, at 5,877.77.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed up 0.23%, at 21,134.20 and the Nikkei index closed down -0.40%, at 9,889.86. The Shanghai exchange closed down -0.19%, at 2,434.86.

Dow futures are down -0.09%, at 12,852.00. The Nasdaq is down -0.18%, at 2,639.00 and the S&P is down -0.17%, at 1,364.50.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the euro and the British pound, and weaker versus the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is down -0.03% at 80.014.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are down this morning, with WTI down -1.04% at $106.28/barrel and Brent is down -1.07% at $124.63/barrel. Gold is down -0.72% this morning, at $1,699.20/ounce.

Paul Ausick