Dave Lutz, head of ETF trading and strategy at Stifel Nicolaus, has the roundup of what everyone is talking about today.
Read it and catch up fast:
Good Morning! U.S. futures have an upbeat tone to them, led by a 65 basis-points pop in Nasdaq futures - primarily driven by AAPL, which is popping 4%+ and nearing the YTD peaks on the China Mobile deal. The E-minis are adding 40 basis points to new all-time intraday highs as the IMF ramps U.S. growth projections. Over in Europe, The DAX is the standout market, adding 60 basis points - but EU volumes are off 30%+ to normal averages right now. Despite some weakness in EU debt, as banks move to dump ahead of the ECB assessment - the Fins remain in the green, adding 20 basis points. Keep an eye on Turkey, as their market is getting smacked again, and testing last week's gap down lows as the political stability worsens. Japan was closed for Emperor's Birthday celebrations - and eyes were on China short-term rates spiking near June crisis levels - but China's market bounced small after longest string of losses in almost 20 years. Thailand is getting whacked for 1%+ this AM, as the Thai baht weakened to the lowest level since June 2010 on the political climate and capital flight.
There was a large asset allocation trade in Treasuries in the illiquid overnight, which pushed the 10-year down to 2.84% - but sellers have emerged from Europe, bringing the 10-year back unchanged on the session. The dollar is under pressure, as both yen and euro catch a bid. This is a natural headwind for commodities, but copper has a bid to it as CFTC data showed speculators sharply boosted their bullish bets. Gold is the worst performing commodity, under $1200/oz and nearing last week's intra-day lows. In Energy, Brent is outperforming on the worsening situation in Sudan (3rd largest African reserves) - while nat gas is leaping again here in the States, despite the abnormally warm weather, as CFTC shows a record long in the complex. We have heavy economic data at 8:30 this AM - Chicago Fed, PCE, personal income and spending. U of Michigan Confidence at 9:55, a small POMO at 11, and some footprints for foreign central bank activity in the Treasury complex at 3pm.