Friday, March 9, 2012

3 Things to Consider Before Trading Today

3 Things to Consider Before Trading TodayOrlando, FL 3/9/11 (StreetBeat) -- Stocks were broadly higher in Asian. The Nikkei rose 1.6%, Australia increased one percent, the Hang Seng added 0.9% and Shanghai was up 0.8%. European indexes are mixed and little changed this morning, with the Dax up a quarter of a percent while the Footsie is unchanged. US stock futures are essentially unchanged as I write.

*The January reading of Australia’s Trade Balance was a deficit of A$673 million; a surplus of A$1.5 billion was forecast and this is the first trade deficit in eleven months.

*The February reading of China’s Consumer Price Index was +3.2% year on year, or two tenth under the expectation. Other data released last night in China includes Retail Sales, which were up 14.7% versus a year ago, or three percent under the forecast and Industrial Production, which rose 11.4%, one percent less than the estimate.

*The participation rate for the Greek debt swap is said to be 95.7%, meaning the largest sovereign default ever can be considered a resounding success; the volunteers efforts are greatly appreciated by official in Athens and Brussels.

*The January reading of Germany’s Trade Balance was a surplus of EU13.1 billion, right on the forecast as both Exports and Imports rose more than expected.

*The final February reading of Germany’s Consumer Price Index was unrevised at +0.9% month on month and +2.5% year on year.

*The January reading of UK Industrial Production was -0.4% month on month, well short of the 0.3% gain that was expected.

*The February reading of the Employment Situation report is due out at 7:30am CST. The Unemployment Rate is expected to be steady at 8.3%. The net change for total non-farm payrolls is forecast to be +210k and the estimate for the private sector payrolls is +225k. The forecast for the Average Hourly Wages is +0.2% on the month and the Average Work Week is expected to be steady at 34.5 hours. Also due out at 7:30am is the January reading of the US Trade Balance, expected to be a deficit of $49.0 billion. The January reading of Wholesale Inventories is due out at 9:00am CST, it is forecast to be +0.6% on the month.

*The Fed is scheduled to sell Treasuries today that are due to mature between 8/15/13 and 1/31/14; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.

StreetBeat Disclaimer

No comments:

Post a Comment