US index futures trading has been pretty quiet so far on Getaway Day ahead of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday. The three main contracts are flat to up 0.2%, consolidating yesterday’s gains of 1.1%-1.4% for major US indices. European equity trading has been mixed so far with the Dax down 0.2% and the FTSE up 0.3%.
Energy markets have been more active today as investors digest a flurry of economic announcements overnight with more to come over the course of this morning before scheduled news flow goes quiet for the rest of the week. Energy markets are divergent again with WTI Crude Oil down 2.1% and Natural Gas up 7.3%. Metals trading along with major currency action has been quiet for far today. A trading bounce or relief rally appears to be underway in cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin up 2.3% and Ethereum up 3.7%.
There have been a number of economic developments overnight. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.75% to 4.25% as had been widely expected and issued a hawkish statement confirming its need to keep fighting inflation and slow its economy. Flash PMI reports have been mixed. Most numbers were in the 45-50 area indicating moderate contraction, Services in Australia and France were a bit worse than expected, while numbers from Germany and the UK were a bit better than expected. US flash Manufacturing (street 50.0%) and flash Service (street 47.9) reports are due at 9:45 am EDT.
US durable goods orders for October were (1.0% vs street 0.4%) were better than expected, while weekly initial jobless claims were worse than expected (240K vs street 225K). Rounding out the week for US announcements, new home sales (street -3.8%) and the University of Michigan consumer 5-year inflation expectation (previous 3.0%) are due at 10:00 am EDT. DOE crude oil inventories (street -1.0 mmbbls) and EIA natural gas storage (street +70 BCF) follow at 10:30 am EST and 12:00 pm EST respectively.
