Stock markets have stabilized this morning for the most part with Dow and S&P futures, plus the Dax and FTSE all flat this morning. NASDAQ futures are down 0.2%. Commodities are mixed with copper up 1.0% while WTI crude oil is down 1.75%. Bitcoin is down 3.7% and has slipped back under $55,000.
The Bank of Canada releases its latest monetary policy and statement at 10:00 am EDT this morning. Last month, central bank officials started hinting that they may start scaling back their asset purchase program (from the current pace of $4B per week) perhaps as soon as today’s meeting. Canadian economic numbers, particularly employment, have remained strong in recent weeks, adding to the case for a curtailment. Investors may also watch to see if the bank makes any moves to try and cool Canada’s hot housing market. Last meeting, the bank suggested that conditions for a rate hike (removal of slack in the economy) appears unlikely before 2023.
Earnings reports have continued to roll in overnight. Headliner Netflix saw its shares smashed down 11% in aftermarket trading last night, but they have bounced a bit and are currently down 8.9% in premarket action. The streaming service beat analyst expectations on earnings per share ($3.75 vs street $2.97), but subscriber growth slowed dramatically (3.98M vs street 6.2M), suggesting that companies which benefitted from last year’s lockdowns may struggle to keep growth momentum going this year.
Other senior US companies with results out this morning include: Rogers Communications ($0.77 vs street $0.67), Halliburton ($0.19 vs street $0.17), and Verizon $1.31 vs street $1.29. Later today, results are due from Canadian Pacific, Whirlpool, Chipotle, Lam Research, and others.
