OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
December E-mini S&Ps (ESZ14 -0.41%) this morning are down -0.37% and European stocks are down -1.05% led by a slide in bank stocks with Citigroup down over 1% in pre-market trading after regulators from the U.S., U.K. and Switzerland fined five lenders a total of $3.3 billion to settle a probe into the rigging of foreign-exchange rates. Another negative for stocks is the action by the BOE to cut their U.K. GDP and inflation forecasts as a renewed slump in the Eurozone weighs on the U.K. economy. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan +0.43%, Hong Kong +0.55%, China +1.40%, Taiwan-1.28%, Australia -0.98%, Singapore -0.26%, South Korea +0.32%, India +0.35%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Index pushed up to a 7-year high as retail stocks surged on speculation the government will delay another increase to the national sales tax. Commodity prices are mixed. Dec crude oil (CLZ14 -0.96%) is down -0.76%. Dec gasoline (RBZ14 -0.35%) is down -0.07%. Dec gold (GCZ14 -0.06%) is up +0.03%. Dec copper (HGZ14 -0.05%) is up +0.25%. Agriculture prices are higher with Jan soybeans up +1.20% at a 3-month high. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.07%) is up +0.07%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.14%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.39%. Dec T-note prices (ZNZ14 +0.28%) are up +11 ticks.
Philadelphia Fed President Plosser said it is “risky strategy” for the Fed to wait for labor markets to completely heal before lifting rates and that “we are at least a year ahead of where we thought we would be when we started to taper.” He added that the Fed should raise rates “sooner rather than later” as that would enable them to move more gradually as data improves.
Eurozone Sep industrial production rose +0.6% m/m, less than expectations of +0.7% m/m, although Aug was revised upward to -1.4% m/m from the originally reported -1.8% m/m. On an annual basis, Sep industrial production unexpectedly rose +0.6 y/y, better than expectations of -0.2% y/y, and Aug was revised upward to -0.5% y/y from the previously reported -1.9% y/y.
