Coming off an explosive start to US earnings season, which saw major indices rally 1.6% to 2.4%, US index futures are consolidating this morning with Dow Futures down 0.4% and NASDAQ Futures up 0.3%. Over in Europe, the Dax is up 0.3% and the CAC is up 1.9%. The FTSE is up 0.6% as soft UK industrial production report adds to the case for rate cuts.
US retail sales came in a bit softer than expected (0.4% vs street 0.6%). The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey was a barn burner (44.3 vs street -5.0), offsetting yesterday’s disappointing Empire Manufacturing Survey. The US NAHB Housing Market Index is due at 10:00 am EST. Tonight brings GDP, retail sales, and industrial production for China.
The US 10-year treasury note yield has stabilized near 4.65%. The US Dollar is up 0.3% against the Loonie and the Pound this morning, while the Euro is flat. Gold and Silver are up 1.0% to 1.1% today, while Bitcoin is down 0.8%. Commodity action is mixed with Crude Oil down 0.5%, Copper up 0.4% and Natural Gas up 1.2%.
Earnings season continues this morning with earnings beats from UnitedHealth ($6.81 vs street $6.73, down 3.9% premarket), Bank of America ($0.82 vs street $0.77, down 0.4% premarket), and Morgan Stanley ($2.22 vs street $1.70, up 2.2% premarket). Target is down 3.3% premarket after the retailer announced holiday season sales were better than expected but earnings were worse than expected.