This morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-M2) are trading lower by 3.50 points to 1395.00 per contract. This decline comes as most of the leading European stock markets are trading slightly lower. Traders and investors that cannot closely follow the European markets so should follow the action in the U.S. Dollar Index.
All of the major stock market and commodity indexes continue to trade inverse to the U.S. Dollar. This is very evident today as United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSEARCA:USO), SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD), and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA:DIA) are all declining ahead of the opening bell.
Earlier today, the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded 16 Spanish banks. Last week, Standard & Poor's downgraded the sovereign debt of the country. Today, the IBEX 35 IDX (Spanish stock market index) is trading lower by 0.65 percent. Traders can watch for volatile action in equities such as Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:STD), and the iShares MSCI Spain Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA:EWP).