U.S. and Canadian stock markets appear set to regain some altitude at the open after suffering a setback Monday afternoon amid unease over the bailout deal for Cyprus.
U.S. stock futures, and most European indexes, are posting modest gains this morning after the S&P 500 slid 0.3 per cent Monday in response to the Dutch finance minister suggesting that the Cyprus deal could be used elsewhere in the euro zone as a template for bailouts.
The last-minute bailout deal over the weekend provided Cyprus with €10-billion ($13-billion U.S.) in financial aid in exchange for the country shutting down its second largest bank and taxing uninsured, large depositors. The finance minister later backed away from his comments, but markets still have lingering concerns over how large depositors in other countries may one day face similar measures as the European debt crisis plays out.
Asian markets mostly declined overnight, led by a 1.2-per-cent fall in Shanghai, as the euro zone woes rattled nerves there as well.
There are a number of economic reports out of the U.S. today that could set a fresh direction for trading. So far, durable goods orders, which provides a forward-looking snapshot of manufacturing demand, came in largely as expected. A separate report showed a continued acceleration in home prices in January.
Now, here's a closer look at what else is going on this morning and what's to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
U.S. futures: S&P 500 +0.2 per cent; Dow +0.2 per cent; Nasdaq +0.3 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index +0.27 per cent
Shanghai composite index -1.23 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -0.59 per cent
London's FTSE 100 +0.15 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.34 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.64 per cent
Italy's FTSE MIB -0.03 per cent
Commodities:
WTI (Nymex May) +0.53 per cent at $95.31 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Jun) -0.41 per cent at $1,600.00 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex May) +0.20 per cent at $3.45 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar up 0.0010, or 0.10 per cent, at $0.9801 (U.S.)
ECONOMIC INDICATORS TO WATCH:
The U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods in February rose 5.7 per cent, a bit better than the 3.5 per cent month-over-month rise economists expected. But non-defence capital goods orders, which excludes aircraft, fell 2.7 per cent - a worse reading than expected.
S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-city home price index for January rose 0.1 per cent from December, or 1 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Its 10-city index was up 0.2 per cent. These were the biggest increases since the housing bubble burst.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. releases new home sales for February, which is forecast to fall to 425,000 from 437,000 in January.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Conference Board releases consumer confidence figures.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Research In Motion Ltd. is up 3 per cent in the premarket after falling more than 4 per cent on Monday as Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock citing early signs the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones aren't creating a lot of buzz as they come on sale in the U.S.
Mega Brands Inc. has outlined new plans to reduce its debt by $62.4-million.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:
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The premarket report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves. For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities
Darcy Keith