Ahead of the Bell: Dow futures are trading down 83 points and S&P futures are trading down 10.3 points as European markets move lower after Spain officially asked its euro zone partners for financial support to stabilized its troubled banking system.
- On the economic calendar today, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index is expected to release its results before the market opens; a reading of -0.40 is expected. New Home Sales results are expected at 10:00 a.m. with estimates at 346k; Dallas Fed Manufacturing activity is also expected after the market opens; a change of -1.0 is expected. The Supreme Court Decision on the Affordable Care Act is expected today. The dollar is up against euro and down against the British pound and Japanese yen. Gold is trading at $1,569. Crude oil is currently trading at $79 a barrel, under pressure thanks to a Gulf of Mexico hurricane.
- Yesterday, markets closed higher as stocks rebounded from Thursday’s broad-market sell-off, ending the week on a high note. Banks were in focus and led the rally following Moody’s credit downgrades as investors were not surprised by the move that has been anticipated for several months now and was a less severe downgrade across than board than initially feared.
- On CNBC today, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R) of Alabama and Chairman of the Financial Services Committee believes Mitt Romney will be a transformative president; he also believes Romney will bring jobs back because he believes in competition and the private sector’s ability to deploy capital. There is a lot of frustration when one out of two college graduates cannot get a job. Education system, K-12, cannot be second rate. Students can perform better when changes are made within 1-2 years; charter schools are a good example of changes being made. Had Obama addressed education vs. healthcare, he might have fared better. Education is the way to economic well being. People are staying out of work for the longest period in our history because of unemployment benefits. Rep. Bachus goes on to say that we’re not through the banking crisis…it will continue to grow because the government is micromanaging the banks – and that’s extending to insurance. He thinks the banks are “too big to fail,” which makes him even more against Dodd Frank because of the cost of compliance. It won’t make them safer – just less efficient. It’s forcing banks to adopt a model of sameness - much like a utility – which takes away ability to innovate and reward.
- Happy Monday and have a wonderful day.
Friday’s Close
Dow closed up 67.21 pts/+0.53% to 12,640.78
S&P closed up 9.51 pts/+0.72% to 1,335.02
Nasdaq closed up 33.33 pts/+1.17% to 2,892.42
Monday’s Futures
Dow Futures down 83 pts
S&P Futures down 10.3 pts
Nasdaq Fut down 14.75 pts
Overseas Markets
FTSE -37.94/-0.69%
CAC 40 -58.58/-1.90%
NIKKEI 225 -63.73/-0.72%
HANG SENG -97.68/-0.51%
Overseas: World stock markets were down today. European and Asian markets were down today on continued concerns over the lack of stimulus officials are willing to approve to address the euro zone financial crisis along with worldwide slowing growth.
Economic Reports: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (-0.40 expected) at 8:30 a.m.; May New Home Sales (346k expected) at 10:00 a.m.; Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity (-1.0 expected)
Top Headlines:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) is reportedly in talks to buy the 50 percent of Corona Extra beer maker Grupo Modelo that it does not own, in a deal that could cost more than $10-12 billion.
- Lockheed Martin (LMT) officials have reached a tentative deal with its striking machinists employees who have been on strike since the end of April.
- Research in Motion (RIMM) may be considering a sale of its handset manufacturing unit followed by a divestiture of its email messaging network.
- Disney’s (DIS) Pixar Animation Studios released “Brave” this weekend in the number one slot and brought in $66.7 million. The film marks Pixar’s 13th consecutive movie to debut at #1.
Commodities/Currency:
Gold: up $2.40 to $1,569.30
Oil: down $0.81 to $78.95
EUR/USD: -0.0055 to 1.2497
USD/JPY: -0.79 to 79.66
GBP/USD: -0.0025 to 1.5559
Volatility Index (VIX): As of the close of business Friday, June 22, the VIX is down 1.97 at 18.11
Today’s Opening and Closing Bells:
Constantino De Oliveira Junior, President And Chief Executive Officer of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) will ring the Opening BellSM.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG) is celebrating its 25th anniversary of trading on the NYSE as well as the Harley-Davidson World Ride. To celebrate both occasions, President and CEO Keith Wandell and members of the company’s management team, will the Closing BellSM.
Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or a recommendation of any security or trading practice. Some information included above has been aggregated from multiple public third-party financial news sources for informational purposes only and redistributed to the NYSE Euronext community. NYSE Euronext does not control the content provided by these sources and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such content.
