As is common on days when the US is closed, overnight stock market action has been neutral to slightly positive. Coming off of a day where the big US indices were flat to up 0.4%, US index futures (which close for the holiday shortly) are all up about 0.15%. Overseas, the FTSE and the Dax are also up about 0.15%, while in Asia, the Nikkei climbed 0.6% and the Hang Seng gained 0.2%.
The main event over night has been that the Bank of Korea became the second notable central bank to raise interest rates this week, confirming that the main pressure on central banks has shifted from supporting their economies to containing the rise of inflation. Several ECB members are out speaking today including President Lagarde, which may provide hints on whether the currently dovish European Central Bank is ready to change its tune.
Commodity action is mixed this morning. Energy contracts are backsliding again with WTI crude oil down 0.4% and natural gas down 0.5%. Metals are bouncing back with copper up 0.25% and gold up 0.35%.
SIA Wealth In The Media:
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist of SIA Wealth Management, joined BNN Bloomberg to wrap up the trading day and discuss his outlook on the sell-off in retail stocks as supply chain issues continue to weigh negatively on the sector.
Retail earnings reflect substantial impact of supply chain disruptions: Colin Cieszynski