10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Crude oil trades at a 5-month high. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is higher by 2.4% at $61.87 a barrel, threatening the $62 mark for the first time since December. The energy component has rallied approximately 35% off the March lows.
Goldman Sachs says buy the US dollar. Analysts at the investment bank believe the dollar will most likely gain 18% against the euro to 95 cents and 8% against the yen to 130 over the next 12 months. The dollar's rebound will be fueled by strong second-quarter growth after a relatively flat first quarter. The US Dollar Index trades lower by 0.3% at 94.80.
China's HSBC Services PMI improves but misses estimates. China's HSBC Services PMI hit a four-month high of 52.9. The April reading showed a continued improvement but fell short of the 53.1 that analysts were expecting. China's yuan gained 0.1% to 6.2004 per dollar.
Eurozone retail sales dive. Retail sales in Europe tumbled 0.8% month-over-month, missing the 0.7% MoM decline that was anticipated. The euro is up 0.4% at 1.1234.
Most German business executives favor a Grexit. A survey conducted by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt showed 44% of those surveyed believe Greece should leave the euro on its own accord, and another 13% were in favor of ejecting Greece from the euro. Almost 80% of respondents think a Greek exit from the euro would not lead to contagion. Greece's two-year yield is higher by 81 basis points at 21.36%.
The FTC is investigating Apple's Beats Music streaming service. The Federal Trade Commission is looking into the possibility Apple's Beats Music used the iTunes platform to put competitors at a disadvantage. According to Bloomberg, the investigation is still in the early stages.
Allstate posted a mixed quarter. The insurance giant announced earnings of $1.46 per share, excluding nonrecurring items, topping the $1.42 that was anticipated. Revenues rose 5.1% to $7.43 billion.
Herbalife earnings blow past estimates. The multilevel marketer earned $1.29 per share, excluding nonrecurring items, handily beating the $1.01 that Wall Street was expecting. Revenues tumbled 12.5% from the prior year to $1.11 billion, outpacing the $1.09 billion that was anticipated.
Global stock markets trade mixed. Overnight, Australia's ASX (-2.3%) paced the decline. In Europe, Germany's DAX (+0.8%) leads the advance. S&P 500 futures are up 3.50 points at 2087.50.
US economic data is moderate. ADP Employment Change is due out at 8:15 a.m. ET, before productivity and unit labor costs cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET. Crude oil inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is little changed at 2.19%.