3 Things To Know Before Trading

Stocks in Asia were generally higher on the day, but little changed. The Nikkei was up 0.6%, the Hang Seng gained 0.4% and Shanghai rose a slight fraction; Australia was one of the exceptions with a decline of 0.8%. Similar results so far in Europe, with the Dax up about a quarter percent, but the Footsie is lower by a third of a percent. US stock futures are up a slight fraction.

*The March reading of Australian Consumer Confidence was down two and a half points on the month to 104.1, according to the Westpac Index; it is at a nine month low and is said to be the result of higher gasoline prices and a carbon tax.

*The January reading of Japanese Machine Orders was strong at +4.2%, more than one point above the forecast.

*The January reading of German Industrial Production is +1.8% month on month, a tenth more than expected.

*The February reading of Switzerland’s Consumer Price Index is +0.4% on a monthly basis and +0.5% year on year; both results were a tenth more than forecast.

*There are unconfirmed reports circulating that the ECB has been buying Greek and Portuguese bonds today after both continued their recent struggles earlier in the day.

*Libyan conflict is ongoing, with no obvious peaceful solutions on the table.

*US mortgage applications were up 15.5% in the week ended March 4, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the biggest weekly gain since June. Both key components, Purchases and Refis, had double digit gains.

*The January reading of Wholesale Inventories is due out at 9:00am CST, it is expected to rise 0.9% on a month on month basis.

*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CST. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to increase 1.0 million barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to fall 1.5 million and the estimate for Distillates is -500k.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 3/31/15 and 8/31/16; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.

*The Treasury plans to sell $21 billion re-opened 10 Year Notes today; the results of the auction will be announced just after noon CST.

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