U.S. equity futures are pointing to a lower open as the market takes its lead from Europe, where stocks are in the red. Investors will be watching several data points today for direction. The weekly Department of Energy inventory reports, which are normally released on Wednesdays, will be released tomorrow due to the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) finally reversed course and settled slightly higher yesterday. Stocks rose from morning lows and then traded in a tight low volume range for the entire 2ndhalf of the day. We could see muted moves today until the Fed minutes are released at 1 pm CT.
Bonds and Notes extended gains overnight as risk appetite softened. The yield on the 10-year note dropped to 2.68% and looks to be range-bound for the time being. The U.K. unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 7.2% in December from 7.1% which had European stocks lower. Also the Bank of England Minutes showed a unanimous vote to keep policy unchanged. Meanwhile, Euro-zone bonds were higher underpinned by hopes for European Central Bank action. In the U.S. today, the FOMC Minutes will be scrutinized for indications on Fed thinking with respect to tapering and the impact of the weather. Before that, data will be of interest with January housing starts and PPI. The MBA reported a 4.1% drop in mortgage application figures. This afternoon there's Fed-speak from Lockhart, Bullard and Williams.
Stock Stories:
Tesla (TSLA) –It’s Electric – The luxury electric-car maker hits all-time highs yesterday on the back of a report that its CEO had buy-out talks with Apple (AAPL). Although the meeting took place last year, investors took it as a positive sign for the auto-maker. The shares are down slightly ahead of the opening bell.
Major Economic Reports:
6:00 am CT - MBA Purchase Applications
6:45 am CT – GS Store Sales
7:30 am CT – Producer Price Index (PPI)
7:30 am CT – Housing Starts
12:00 pm CT – Fed’s Bullard Speaks
1:00 pm CT – FOMC Minutes
Notable Earnings:
Before Market: CNK, DVN, GRMN, MGM, SAVE, SIX
After Market: AMTG, AVG, CAR, HOS, RGP, SWY, TSLA, WMB
