Thomson Reuters
Traders work on the floor of the NYSE
Good Morning, and Happy Friday! US Futures are climbing and rest on overnight highs, led by a 70bp move in the Russell. This mirrors broad strength overseas, with the DAX climbing 1%, but in volumes 20% light to trend. While Commodity stocks rebound, European bank stocks are jumping, led by Italian issues as headers indicate a "bad-bank" deal for early next week - this has the bank-heavy Italian Index up over 3% in heavy trade. Over in Asia, Shanghai lost 80bp ahead of heavy data next week (CPI, GDP, Industrial Production, Trade Balance), and Aussie retreated 50bp as investors continue to dump the big banks. The Nikkei advanced 46bp, as official jawboning about the Yen's recent strength had shorts being covered into the weekend.
The $ has a bid to it this morning, coming mostly against Euro as Yellen, Bernanke, Volker and Greenspan all pound the table about the recovery in America. Unfortunately tho, that Yen continues to gather some upward mojo as the carry trade unwinds - something traders will remain focused on. Despite the stronger $, Oil remains well bid, with stops propelling WTI +3.5% as it pierced yesterday's top. Natty Gas continues to climb over $2, adding 60bp to yesterday's inventory/cold induced surge. The Metals complex sees Gold seeing some consolidation of yesterday's upward move, while the red metal fails to hold any rebound as headlines of Chinese Copper exports spook the longs.
Ahead of us today, New York President William Dudley speaks in Bridgeport, CT at 8:30, right when Canadian Housing Starts and Employment data hits. At 10am we get Wholesale Inventories in the USA, and Energy players will be eyeballing that Baker Hughes Rig Count at 1. At 3pm coverage begins on ESPN, and liquidity should evaporate ahead of the "Commitment of Traders" data at 3:30. Down in Washington, at 9 Treasury Sec. Jack Lew speaks at U.S. Export-Import Bank annual conference.