Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Lower

US index futures are moving down this morning as investors wait for the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) report on factory orders. The Commerce Department also releases its monthly construction spending report this morning. In Europe, markets are flat to down as Eurozone PMI hit a 3-month low in March. In Asia, are mixed following weekend data on Chinese PMI, which rose in March according to the government and fell according to research firm Markit Economics. The Shanghai exchange is closed for a holiday.

At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -0.21% at 6,932.12 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.71% at 3,399.64. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.14%, at 5,760.55.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -0.16%, at 20,522.30. The Nikkei closed up 0.26% at 10,109.90 and the Shanghai exchange was closed today.

Dow futures are down -0.18%, at 13,118.00. The Nasdaq is down -0.15%, at 2,746.50 and the S&P is down -0.11%, at 1,401.60.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the euro, and down against the British pound and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is down -0.06% at 78.955.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are lower this morning, with WTI down -0.56% at $102.44/barrel and Brent is down -0.52% at $122.24/barrel. Gold is down -0.31% this morning, at $1,666.80/ounce.

Paul Ausick