OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 -0.18%) this morning are down -0.14% and European stocks are down -0.83% after Greek Prime Minister Samaras failed in a third and final attempt to get his presidential candidate, Stavros Dimas confirmed, which will trigger early elections in late Jan or early Feb. Greece’s stock market plunged over 7% to a 2-year low and the 10-year German bund yield fell to a record low of 0.563% on heightened sovereign debt concerns. Greece’s parliament will now be dissolved and general elections called, which raises concern that Syriza, an anti-austerity party that seeks to renegotiate Greek’s debt, comes to power just before the EU’s 240 billion euro ($292 billion) bailout to Greece expires. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan -0.50%, Hong Kong +1.82%, China +0.28%, Taiwan +0.74%, Australia +1.47%, Singapore +0.42%, South Korea -1.50%, India +0.57%. China’s Shanghai Stock Index climbed to a 4-3/4 year high after a plunge in China Nov industrial profits bolstered speculation that the government will boost steps to spur lending and economic growth. Commodity prices are mixed. Feb crude oil (CLG15 +1.15%) is up +1.32%. Feb gasoline (RBG15 +0.63%) is up +0.99%. Feb gold (GCG15 -0.24%) is down -0.18%. Mar copper (HGH15 +0.05%) is down -0.07% at a 4-1/2 year low after China industrial profits fell the most in 2-1/4 years last month, which fueled speculation that demand from China, the world’s largest copper consumer, will weaken. Agriculture prices are mixed. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.08%) is down -0.06%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.07%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.11%. Mar T-note prices (ZNH15 +0.20%) are up +6.5 ticks on carryover support from a rally German bunds to a record high.
China Nov industrial profits fell -4.2% y/y, twice as much as the -2.1% y/y decline in Oct and the biggest drop in 2-1/4 years.
