- Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Bombay Stock Exchange down 1.15 percent to a seven-month low. The BSE surged almost 128 points, before tumbling 211 points. Europe is rallying and U.S. futures are modestly higher.
- Ron Johnson was ousted as JC Penney CEO. Shares of the company initially surged 11 percent after hours, but soon tumbled nearly 8 percent. Mike Ullman, the former CEO of the company will act as interim CEO. How Ron Johnson made JC Penney even worse >
- Chinese consumer prices climbed 2.1 percent year-over-year in March, below expectations for a 2.5 percent rise. Meanwhile, producer prices were up 1.9 percent, in line with expectations. Pork prices are falling in the world's largest pork market >
- Alcoa reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.11 per share, beating expectations of $0.08 per share. Revenue of $5.83 billion missed expectations of $5.88 billion.
- German exports fell a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent month-over-month in February. This was more than expectations for a 0.3 percent decline. Imports fell 3.8 percent, and the trade surplus widened to €16.8 billion.
- North Korea has warned that the Korean peninsula is heading for a "thermo-nuclear war", and has asked foreigners in South Korea to consider evacuating. North Korea's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee issued the warning and blamed the "warmongering U.S." and its "puppets" in South Korea for wanting to invade the North, according to the AFP.
- 17 companies led by Microsoft have filed an antitrust complaint against Google in Europe. The companies argue that Google is using unfair practices to keep a stronghold on internet usage on smartphones.
- UK manufacturing climbed 0.8 percent in month-over-month in February. This compared with a 1.9 percent decline in January, and beat expectations for a 0.4 percent rise.
- Wholesale trade data for February is out at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for wholesale inventories to rise 0.5 percent month-over-month. Follow the release at Business Insider >
- French media conglomerate Lagardere has sold a 7.4 percent stake in European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. (EADS). The company repurchased 1.6 percent of its shares and the sale raised Lagardere €2.3 billion in all.
- Bonus - In an interview with Marie Claire, Scarlett Johansson said she doesn't like "controlling behavior" and when a person is "passive-aggressively jealous."