The USD is trading under slight pressure against the other majors early Thursday in a recovery from yesterday's selloff.
On the macro agenda today is initial jobless claims in the U.S., which are expected to have declined last week. There's also the interest rate decision from the Bank of England (BoE) and German industrial production. Moreover, investors also await the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls due tomorrow.
At 6 am BST, the EUR and the GBP are trading 0.1 percent higher, each against the USD, to trade at $1.3157 and $1.5904, respectively. The JPY has risen 0.2 percent versus the USD. The AUD has gained 0.3 percent against the USD. Data indicated that service sector activity in China continued to expand in March.
UK Stocks: Expected To Open In Positive Territory
The FTSE 100 is likely to open 15 points in the green.
Manufacturing production, industrial production and NIESR Gross Domestic Product estimates are the key economic indicators scheduled for release today. Investors also await the interest rate decision and asset purchase target from the BoE.
Sandvine and Panmure Gordon: Scheduled To Report Their Results Today
According to the Wall Street Journal, Royal Dutch Shell is considering building a plant in Louisiana, valued at about $10.0 billion, for converting natural gas into diesel fuel.
Reuters, citing a union official, has reported that coal mines in Australia owned by BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi Corporation will be affected by a second work stoppage on 12 April 2012, with union workers planning to halt work for two days.
Quickflix has stated that it has signed a content licensing agreement with U.K. based ITV Plc.
Dick’s Sporting Goods has agreed to make a £20.0 million investment in the U.K. sportswear retailer, JJB Sports.
Asia: Trading Mostly Weak
Asian markets are trading mostly lower this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
In Japan, JFE Holdings, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Inpex have retreated, following weak commodity prices. Mitsubishi Heavy is trading lower, amid reports that initial deliveries of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet would be delayed by at least one year to 2015. Automobile sector stocks, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are trading under pressure.
On the other hand, Tokyo Electric Power has gained, amid reports that the Japanese government would buy a majority stake in the company. At 6 am BST, the Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.5 percent lower at 9,768.5.
In Hong Kong, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank have lost value, after Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, stated that China needs to break a banking “monopoly” of a few big lenders. In South Korea, KT&G is trading higher, after it announced plans for a new luxury cigarette brand to be co-developed with Italian carmaker, Lamborghini, later this month.
In China, Citic Securities has climbed, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission raised quotas for qualified foreign institutional investors to $80.0 billion from $30.0 billion. Aluminum Corporation of China has gained, amid an earlier report that its parent plans to invest about CNY5.2 billion in rare earth production in the southern Guangxi province.
US Stocks: Futures Trading Firmer
At 6 am BST, S&P 500 futures are trading 1.7 points higher.
Initial & Continuing Jobless Claims and Challenger Job Cuts are the key economic indicators scheduled for release today.
Carmax, Constellation Brands, RPM International, Pier 1 Imports and Schnitzer Steel Industries are scheduled to announce their results today.
In after-hours trading session yesterday, better-than-expected fourth quarter results led Bed Bath & Beyond to surge 5.5 percent. Premier Exhibitions rallied 10.0 percent, after it stated that it is extending the auction of its Titanic artifacts collection. On the flip side, Ruby Tuesday plunged 12.1 percent, after its third quarter results fell short of market estimates and it guided to a lower-than-anticipated full year adjusted earnings outlook.
Downbeat second quarter earnings led A. Schulman and PriceSmart to decline 7.6 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. Carmike Cinemas tumbled 7.4 percent, after it stated that it has begun an underwritten public offering of 4 million shares of its common stock.
The S&P 500 index retreated 1.0 percent in the regular trading session yesterday, following weak demand at a Spanish bond auction and more-than-expected decline in the U.S. non-manufacturing index in March. SanDisk plummeted 11.1 percent, after it lowered its first quarter revenue guidance. St. Jude Medical dropped 4.9 percent, after the company stated that it will stop selling two types of wires used in devices to treat heart failure, following the detection of some defect.
International Business Machines slipped 1.7 percent, after a broker downgraded its rating on the stock to “Neutral” from “Buy”. Monsanto shed 1.5 percent, despite raising its earnings outlook for the full year. General Electric lost 1.1 percent, after Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its credit rating on the company by one notch to “Aa3”. On the flip side, Yahoo! advanced 0.6 percent, after the company announced that it would lay off 2,000 employees.
European Stocks: Likely To Open Higher
The DAX and CAC are expected to open 12 to 14 points and 17 to 20 points in positive territory, respectively.
German Industrial Production and Swiss Consumer Price Index & Foreign Currency Reserves are the key economic indicators scheduled for release today.
Bricorama SA, Groothandelsgebouwen NV, Solutions 30 SA and Industrivarden AB are scheduled to announce their results today.
The shareholders of Daimler AG, at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders, have approved the payout of €2.20 per share as dividend for 2011.
Commerzbank AG has sued a unit of Credit Agricole SA on claims that the latter allegedly owed more than $73.0 million to it due to the termination of credit-linked notes transactions in 2006.
Algerian newspaper, El Khabar, has reported that ThyssenKrupp AG has secured a €400.0 million contract from the Algerian Ministry of Defence.
Areva SA has predicted that the market for uranium would suffer from a glut due to the impact of last year’s meltdown in Japan. However, the company expects the nuclear fuel demand to rebound from 2014.
Macro Update
IMF approves loan to PortugalThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Portugal was making "good progress" in its loan-supported economic program and approved a €5.2 billion loan to the nation aimed at helping it to curb its high budget deficit.
Iran, Oil, Europe Pose Risk To Economy, Says Geithner
Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, has warned that the European debt crisis, coupled with concerns of Iran and higher oil prices, posed the biggest threats to the U.S. economy. Additionally, he cautioned that too much deficit reduction measures undertaken too quickly could hamper the U.S. recovery.
Chinese Services Sector Continues To Expand
The seasonally adjusted HSBC Services Purchasing Managers’ Index in China stood at a reading of 53.3 in March, the highest level in 11 months, and compared to a reading of 53.9 posted in the previous month.