OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 -0.75%) this morning are sharply lower by -14.25 points (-0.69%) due to last Friday’s weaker-than-expected March payroll report of +126,000. The European markets are closed today for Easter Monday. Asian stocks today settled mixed with some markets closed for the holiday: Japan -0.19%, Singapore (-0.02%), South Korea (+0.07%), India +0.86%, Turkey -0.40%. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.07%) this morning is slightly higher by +0.13 points (+0.13%), while EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0016 (+0.15%) and USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.11 (+0.09%). The euro is receiving a boost today after Greece Finance Minister reassured IMF Director Lagarde late last week that Greece will make the 450 million euro payment that is due to the IMF this Thursday (April 9). Jun T-note prices (ZNM15 unch) are down -1.5 ticks.
Commodity prices are up +1.01% this morning due to a rally in energy and metals. May crude oil (CLK15 +2.48%) is up +1.43 (+2.91%) and May gasoline (RBK15 +2.23%) is up +0.0444 (+2.52%) on some short-covering after last Thursday’s losses on the Iran agreement and on today’s news that Saudi Arabia is raising prices for its Asian customers for May sales. Jun gold (GCM15 +1.48%) is up +18.1 (+1.51%), May silver (SIK15 +2.54%) is up +0.429 (+2.57%), and May copper (HGK15 +1.85%) is up +0.054 (+1.98%). Grain prices this morning are mixed.
Last Friday’s March payroll report of +126,000 was substantially weaker than market expectations of +245,000, but much of the weakness was due to bad weather. The payroll report also showed a total of -69,000 in downward revisions for Jan-Feb payrolls. The March unemployment rate of 5.5% was unchanged from Feb’s 6-3/4 year low. The U.S. stock exchanges were closed last Friday for Good Friday.
Saudi Arabia raised its pricing for May sales to its Asian customers for the second straight month, suggesting that global oil demand is increasing. Higher Saudi oil prices also reflect higher refining margins in Asia.
