Index Futures Net Changes and Settlements:
Foreign Markets, Fair Value and Volume:
- In Asia 5 out of 11 markets closed lower: Shanghai Comp -0.08%, Hang Seng +0.44%, Nikkei -0.44%
- In Europe 6 out of 13 markets are trading lower: CAC -0.05%, DAX -0.01%, FTSE +0.44%
- Fair Value: S&P -2.28, NASDAQ +0.94, Dow -49.65
- Total Volume: 1.27mil ESM & 1,029 SPM traded in the pit
Today’s Economic Calendar:
Bank Reserve Settlement, MBA Mortgage Applications 7:00 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET, Wholesale Trade 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET, and Raphael Bostic Speaks 1:15 PM ET.
S&P 500 Futures: Choppy Trading Day Ends Flat
After spending most of the globex session trading below Monday’s settlement, in a 13.75 handle range, the S&P 500 futures opened the cash session at 2666.00, down -3.75 handles on the day. It went on to make an early high at 2668.25, and then sold off down to 2659.50 just before 9:00 AM CST. The futures were very choppy after that, as they pushed higher into midday.
With the calendar very light this week, and the weather warming up, we thought it would be a quiet trade as all eyes were waiting on the announcement of Trump with the Iran deal. Through the morning the ES made it’s way up to 2674.25 just before the Euro close, and then tanked down to a new low at 2757.25 just before noon. From there, the futures rallied up to 2669.50 on the Trump announcement, and then sold off down to 2652.25 just after 1:30 CST, before strong buys came in pushing the ES back up to 2670.75, into positive territory by a handle.
On the 3:00 PM CST cash close, the ESM printed 2670.25, and then settled the futures close at 2670.50, up three ticks on the day, barely fractional. The overall tone of the day was very choppy. While there were some moves, the day barely ever really trended.
In the end, the big trade was not in the S&P futures, it was in the energy markets. Crude fell -2.4% to $69.06 a barrel after earlier falling about 3% and crossing $70 a barrel Monday for the first time since 2014. We said over two months ago that crude was going to $75 bucks, and as of the close, its less the $5.00 away.
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