REUTERS/Masaharu Hatano
Good Morning! US Futures are under pressure to start the week, with the pressure continuing in Tech shares - S&P is marked down 30bp, while Nasdaq is marked off 70bp. Some crowded HF names are diving into bear-territory, with ZNGA, P, TWTR, NFLX, AMZN and FB all off 20%+ from their peaks. The Tech selloff is global, with Tencent, the largest holding in the SOCL, losing 4.5% in Hong Kong - South Korea's Naver, which owns another Asian messaging app, lost 6.5% - and Chip companies weighted heavy on FTSE. We will see how Biotech acts, with QCOR getting a take-out bid (#23 holding IBB at 1%). Over in Europe, the DAX is marked off 1%, but overseas volumes are light with the FTSE trading 30% below 20day averages, Eurostoxx 15% below and DAX 10% below. Chinese markets were closed for Holiday - but Tech-Heavy Nikkei led the region's declines, losing almost 2%. Much Asian Focus on the BoJ kicking off their 2day meeting as the new Sales tax takes hold. Globally, Tech is under sharp pressure, with Banks and Consumer stocks right behind. Keep an eye on the Dividend names, they seem to be picking up a lot of the flows, and the miners closed green down in Aussie, adding to last week's 3% pop. Early this AM, I'm seeing N, DDD, TSLA, SCTY, FB and GOOD all marked 1% lower - while ZNGA, P, QCOM all marked up 1%+.
The 10YY in the USA rests near 1week lows on the 200dma at 2.71%. We are seeing the DXY under pressure, as the € is popping off 6week lows, and the Yen has a slight bid into the BOJ. Despite the tailwind of the falling $, we have most commodities in the red - Platinum and Silver are nearing down 1%, while gold does not seem to be attracting haven flows. Brent is off 1% as Libya nears a deal to re-open ports, and maintenance season collapses demand from EU refiners. Coffee is your best performer, adding 4% as drought concerns weigh on global crop prospects. Scheduled catalysts today include the ECB annual report at 9, a small POMO at 11, Fed's Bullard (centrist) to Speak on Monetary Policy at 11:45, and watch the Credit cards into Consumer Credit data at 3pm. Finally, keep an eye on AA, which kicks off earnings season tomorrow - The expectations for the S&P 500 companies are low. Profits are expected to contract in the first quarter by 1.2%, according to FactSet Research, the first contraction since the third quarter of 2012.