10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Greece submitted a list of reforms to its creditors. Greece's government has presented its creditors with a list of reforms it intends to make, if it were given another financial lifeline. Details of the list have not been released, but sources close to the discussions told Reuters there were no major new concessions. "We are not waiting for them to submit a proposal, Greece is submitting a plan - it is now clear that the decision on whether they want to adjust to realism ... the decision rests with the political leadership of Europe," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said. Greece's two-year yield is down 72 basis points at 23.61%.
Inflation returned to Europe. Eurozone inflation has returned for the first time since November. Tuesday's reading of up 0.3% versus last year slightly outpaced the 0.2% increase that was expected. Core inflation also topped estimates, coming in up 0.9%, compared with the 0.7% increase economists were anticipating. The euro is higher by 1.0% at 1.1033.
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept policy on hold. Australia's central bank held its Cash Rate steady at a record-low 2.00%, as expected. RBA head Glenn Stevens announced the central bank would await more data before making a decision on whether to perform a rate cut, but he added: "Further [Australian dollar] depreciation seems both likely and necessary, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices." The Australian dollar is up 1.0% at .7681.
The Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark interest rate. India's central bank lowered its overnight lending rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%. Tuesday's action was the third rate cut by the RBI in 2015 and has lowered the central bank's benchmark rate to levels last seen in May 2013. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said the central bank's next move could be determined by how much rain falls during monsoon season. India's rupee is weaker by 0.2% at 63.8550 per dollar.
UK Construction PMI topped estimates. Tuesday's print of 55.9 marked the first gain in three months, and was supported by confidence hitting its best level in nine years. The pickup in activity was attributed to a post-election boost. The British pound is up 0.2% at 1.5233.
AIG is launching a public offering of its aircraft-leasing business. AIG announced plans to sell 50 million shares of its aircraft leasing unit, AerCap, in a public offering. The offering will represent 51% of AIG's stake in the company, which is valued about $2.4 billion, based on Monday's closing price.
A shortage of frames is slowing Ford's production of F-150s. Ford's top-selling pickup truck has a frame-supply problem. The company had to cancel overtime shifts at at least one of its two plants, because there is not enough supply to keep up with the pace of production. "Deliveries of the truck were off 40% in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2014, costing Ford about $1 billion in operating profit," according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fiat Chrysler is delaying vehicle redesigns. Reuters reports the automaker has "delayed the redesign of at least a dozen current or new vehicles in North America." While the company has not given a reason for the delay, suppliers suggest it may be due to last-minute design and engineering changes, which could reduce costs.
Stock markets around most of the globe are lower. Britain's FTSE (-0.5%) leads European markets lower as Italy's MIB (+0.8%) and Spain's IBEX (+0.9%) outperform. Overnight, Australia's ASX (-1.7%) paced the decline while China's Shanghai Composite (+1.7%) was the lone gainer. S&P 500 futures are down 4.00 points at 2105.25.
US economic data is light. Factory orders will be released at 10 a.m. ET and auto/truck sales will cross the wires throughout the day. The US 10-year yield is higher by 5 basis points at 2.23%.