Foreign Markets
Indices advanced overnight in Asia after Wall Street rallied almost 4%. . Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average gained 140.41 points, or 1.79%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 182.81 to 13,588.66 a 1.36% gain.
The major European markets fell, led by Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index, which slid 1.5%. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.36%%, at 4,107.96. In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy had its index fall 53.23, or 1.17% to 4,478.56
U.S. Futures
The market looks to return the gains made yesterday, where the Dow rose 3.31%, the S&P gained 3.99%, while the NASDAQ jumped 3.70%. Dow futures are down 75 points, or 1%, at 8357 and Standard & Poor’s futures off 9.3 points, or 1.1%, at 839.70. The NASDAQ is 1.5% to the downside at 1,117.25.
Currencies and Commodities
The dollar traded at 92.98 yen, up from 92.63 earlier in trading, the lowest since Oct. 28. The euro retreated $1.2641 from $1.2714, a 0.5% fall. The pound dropped to $1.4886 from $1.4920 continuing the currency’s fall against the greenback. Gold fell $6.40 to $776.9 an ounce. Crude rose 39 cents to $47.85 after touching its lowest level in 3 years.
Corporate News
The Big Three came back to Washington with revised, detailed business plans. Chrysler LLC said it needed $7 billion by year’s end alongside General Motor’s (GM) $4 billion to finish out the year. An additional $18 billion is requested by GM for further business activity in the current economic standstill. Ford (F) asked for a $9 billion line of credit for use by the company if necessary. Congressional leadership hasn’t given any specifics as to whether a vote will occur to provide bailout legislation.
Economic News
8:15 AM
ADP Employment Report: The new ADP national employment report can help improve the payroll forecast by providing information in advance of the employment report. By tracking the jobs data, investors can sense the degree of tightness in the labor market. If wage inflation threatens, it’s a good bet that interest rates will rise in correlation with a fall in bond and stock prices.
8:30 AM
Productivity and Costs: Productivity measures the growth of labor efficiency in producing the economy’s goods and services for the 3rd quarter. Unit labor costs reflect the labor costs of producing each unit of output. Productivity growth is critical because it allows for higher wages and faster economic growth without inflationary consequences. The consensus change in nonfarm productivity is 0.9%, revised from 0.8% in original 3rd quarter estimates. A consensus change in unit labor costs of 3.6%, well up from original estimates of 2.8%. Expect this to be the highest figure to be seen in the next few quarters as growth and demand has steepened further. 4th quarter numbers are due out in February.
10:35 AM
EIA Petroleum Status Report: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides weekly information on petroleum inventories in the U.S. With the sharp fall in crude, it will be interesting to see if demand has continued to taper off as well. Any unexpected drop in inventories could signal strength in the economy, however a move up in crude oil prices could spark further inflationary fears and we could see a rebound in commodity prices.
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