Reuters/Brendan McDermid
Good Morning, and Happy Thirsty Thursday! US Futures are retreating slightly from yesterday's highs near 2075 as BAC falls under some pressure on #s. This mirrors a reversal from peaks over in Europe, which finds most exchanges little changed after initial rallies. Luxury stocks are under pressure as Burberry drops 7% on #s, and Energy and mining companies lead losses in Europe - while Staples are posting a rebound from yesterday's weakness in the sector. Volumes are trading slightly heavy across the continent. In Asia, the Nikkei ripped another 3.2% higher, bringing 2day gains to 6% as Kuroda threatened to expand bond-buying again - China stocks rallied to a three month high overnight, gaining 50bp - while Aussie gained 1.3% as materials stocks rallied sharply. Volumes in China/HK were light ahead of tmrws GDP data.
Despite the equity weakness, Flood o' cash coming out of Bunds and Treasuries, pushing the US 10YY near yesterday's peaks close to 1.79%. The DXY is higher again, and given equities have followed the greenback this week, may bode well for a reversal upwards in the S&P. The Bank of England holds interest rates at 0.5 per cent and steps up its warnings on Brexit - but focus is on Currencies across Asia dropping sharply against the dollar after Singapore unexpectedly eased its currency policy, while China's central bank weakened the yuan against the dollar in the biggest one-day depreciation since early January. Commodities are mostly red, with Gold and Silver losing 50bp+, while WTI was just rejected from unchanged and Natty gas trades slightly lower ahead of Inventory data later today.
Ahead of us today, we get Weekly Jobless Claims and US CPI at 8:30 - then we have 2 FOMC speakers at 10 - Fed's Lockhart (Non-voter) Speaks in Chicago, while Fed's Powell (Voter, Neutral) Appears Before Senate Banking Committee. At 10:30 we get that Natty Gas Inventory data, and at 1pm the US Treasury auctions off $12B in a 30Y reopening. Down in Washington, the House meets at 10am, set to consider two finance-related measures: H.R. 3791 would change rules related to small bank holding companies and H.R. 3340 related to funding for Financial Stability Oversight Council; White House has threatened vetoes on both measures - Tonight we get heavy China data - GDP, Industrial Production, Retail Sales.