World markets are mixed this morning. In North America, US index futures are trying to bounce back from yesterday’s broad selloff. Dow futures are up 0.3% while NASDAQ futures are up 0.7% as they claw back some of yesterday’s respective 0.9% and 1.1% losses.
The US 10-year treasury note yield drifting back into the low 1.60s percent may be helping matters. Investors should note, however, that speculation around how long varying central banks may keep their liquidity party going may continue to be a significant issue for some time, particularly after the Bank of Canada hinted yesterday at plans to start cutting back its asset purchase support program in the coming months.
US durable goods orders fell 1.1% in February, worse than the 0.8% increase the street was expecting. US flash manufacturing PMI numbers for March are due at 9:45 am EDT with the street expecting readings of 59.3 for manufacturing and 60.0 for service, both slightly higher than last month.
European markets, meanwhile, remain under pressure with the Dax down 0.6% and the FTSE down 0.3%. Concerns over new lockdowns in some countries have overshadowed positive flash manufacturing PMI numbers for March which saw Germany (66.6 vs street 60.8) and the UK (57.9 vs street 55.0) beat expectations.
Crude oil is on the rebound this morning with WTI and Brent both up about 2.25%. A container ship blocking the Suez Canal appears to have raised concerns about short-term supply but as we saw with last month’s Texas storm, such disruptions can be short-lived, especially considering reports that canal traffic may at least partially resume in the next day or so, more quickly than initially speculated.
Gamestop is down another 14.1% in premarket action this morning. The video game retailer reported EPS of $1.34, a penny below street estimates, but it appears that management thinking about potentially raising capital through an equity offering (really who wouldn’t take advantage of the recent spike in share prices like the one Gamestop has had recently?) appears to have sparked some profit-taking. Meanwhile, Intel is up 3.8% premarket after announcing plans to invest $20B on two new chip plants near existing operations in Arizona. Tesla Motors announced overnight that it will start accepting payment for its electric vehicles in Bitcoin, sending the cryptocurrency up 3.2% this morning.
