Written by Gary
US stock market index futures are pointing to a moderate higher opening (SPY +0.2%) as investors breathe a sigh of relief as Technology companies recover and are helping drive a bounce for the session.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.58% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.32% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.01%. |
In Asia, Japan -0.1%. Hong Kong +0.6%. China +0.5%. India flat.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris +0.5%. Frankfurt +0.6%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude +0.4% to $46.28. Gold -0.4% to $1263.70.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 2.22%
Today’s Economic Calendar
FOMC meeting begins
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
8:30 Producer Price Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $12B, 30-Year Note Auction
Companies reporting earnings today »
Nasdaq futures rise with Amazon, Alphabet higher in premarket
Looking at the last three columns (below), the first one (Actual), is what was reported this morning. The second column (Forecast) is what analysts had forecast and the third column is the previous report. Full calendar HERE.
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Stock futures up as tech stocks recover; Fed meeting in focus(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday as technology shares staged a recovery after a two-day rout, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve to kick off its meeting, where its is almost certain to raise interest rates. |
| Fed set to raise interest rates, give more detail on balance sheet winddownWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate this week due to a tightening labor market and may also provide more detail on its plans to shrink the mammoth bond portfolio it amassed to nurse the economic recovery. |
| Exclusive: Renault-Nissan considers hidden bonus plan – documentsPARIS (Reuters) – Renault-Nissan alliance bankers have drawn up plans designed to channel millions of euros in additional, undisclosed bonuses to Chairman Carlos Ghosn and other managers via a specially created service company, according to documents seen by Reuters. |
| Bill Gross advises investors to cut risk on U.S. growth woesNEW YORK (Reuters) – Bond investor Bill Gross warned on Tuesday that investors should reduce their risk appetite, given the U.S. growth rate is stunted by secular forces “which monetary and even future fiscal policies seem unable to reverse.” |
| Oil rises on Saudi pledge to make real supply cutsLONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia said it would make significant export cuts in July amid signs of a drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, though increasing U.S. output continues to weigh on the market. |
| Exclusive: GE begins testing drones to inspect refineries, factories – executiveSEATTLE (Reuters) – General Electric Co has begun testing autonomous drones and robotic “crawlers” to inspect refineries, factories, railroads and other industrial equipment with an eye on capturing a bigger slice of the $40 billion companies around the globe spend annually on inspections. |
| Uber CEO Kalanick likely to take leave, SVP Michael out: sourceSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is likely to take a leave of absence from the troubled ride-hailing company, but no final decision has yet been made, according to a source familiar with the outcome of a Sunday board meeting. |
| U.S. shale firms more exposed to falling oil prices as hedges expire(Reuters) – Cash-strapped U.S. shale firms scaled back their hedging programs in the first quarter, leaving them more vulnerable to tumbling spot market prices just after OPEC reached a landmark deal to curb global supply. |
| Toshiba faces fresh lawsuit, plans provision for year ended MarchTOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp on Tuesday said it was being sued by another group of foreign investors for 43.9 billion yen ($399 million) in damages over a $1.3 billion accounting scandal uncovered two years ago. |
| Trump Lays Out “Highly Anticipated” Plan To Overhaul Bank RulesNearly four months after Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of Wall Street regulations, the administration has laid out part one of its plans for reforming the system in a detailed report released by the Treasury Department late Monday. Some of the more notable proposals in the highly-anticipated report – the first in a series that will detail the administration’s thinking on how it plans to proceed with paring back post-crisis regulations in the financial services industry – include: adjusting the annual stress tests, easing trading rules (i.e., gutting the Volcker Rule), and paring back the power of the watchdogs – like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Treasury said its plan was designed to spur lending and job growth by making regulation ‘more efficient’ and less burdensome, according to Bloomberg although in reality it simply caters to the “requests” of Wall Street, which has been limited in its activities since Dodd-Frank, most notanly prop trading, although in most cases banks, like Goldman, have found simply loopholes around the Volcker Rule. Also of note, “unlike the bill passed last week by House Republicans, the report consistently calls for most Obama-era rules to be dialed back, not scrapped.” In a statement released along with the report, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that while the administration backs congressional efforts to roll back Dodd-Frank, the report focuses on actions that can be taken without involving Congress. In fact, between 70 and 80% of its recommended reforms can be made unilaterally through federal agencies’ independent rulemaking authorities. As expected … |
| Frontrunning: June 13The Snowballing Power of the VIX, Wall Street’s Fear Index (WSJ) Beneath the Uneasy Peace Between Donald Trump and Janet Yellen (WSJ) Senators to Query Sessions on Russia, Comey (BBG) U.S. lawmakers to probe Tillerson on Russia, diplomacy budget cuts (Reuters) Under pressure to soften Brexit, PM May to meet Northern Irish ‘kingmakers’ (Reuters) Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known (BBG) North Korea ‘most urgent’ threat to security: Mattis (Reuters) North Korean Drone Spied on U.S. Missile-Defense Site (WSJ) Kremlin says Russia will not heed U.S. calls to free protesters (Reuters) Saudi Arabia Cuts U.S. Oil Exports to Ease Supply Glut (WSJ) Inflation fizzle may once again leave Fed rate path in doubt ( |
| Trump: “Fake News Media Has Never Been So Wrong Or So Dirty”, Slams 9th CircuitTrump wasted little time before launching his opening salvos on Twitter on Tuesday morning, when the President first went after the “Fake News Media” just after 6:30am, accusing the press of publishing false stories. “The Fake News Media has never been so wrong or so dirty. Purposely incorrect stories and phony sources to meet their agenda of hate. Sad!” Trump lashed out in his first tweet on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear which particular story (or stories) prompted Trump’s ire this morning. The president’s latest tweet came hours before Attorney General Jeff Sessions is set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and shortly after Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of the conservative news site and TV network Newsmax, said during an interview on “PBS NewsHour” that Trump is thinking about firing special counsel Robert Mueller. As NBC noted last night, it is open to question how reliable Ruddy’s comments are. “He is often described as a close friend of Trump’s, and reporters spotted him leaving the White House on Monday. But a source familiar with the visit told NBC News that any meeting Ruddy was to have had with the president was postponed. Still, his remarks prompted this reply on Twitter from Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, who said the committee would simply reappoint Mueller and then advised the president: “Don’t waste our time.” |
| OPEC Oil Prodcution Rises Most In 6 Months, Hits Highest Since DecemberWell, so much for OPEC’s production cut. In OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, the oil producing cartel reported that in May – the same month OPEC met to extend its production cuts – crude output climbed the most in six month, since November 2016, rising by 336.1kb/d to 31.139 mmb/d, the highest monthly production of 2017, as members exempt from the original Vienna deal restored lost supply. From the report:
Specifically, Libya pumped 730k b/d in May, up 178kb/d from 552kb/d in April; Nigeria output jumped to 1.68m b/d vs 1.506m b/d, a 174kb/d increase, while even the biggest producer Saudi Arabia, saw its output grow by 2.3kb/d to 9.94mb/d vs 9.938m b/d in April. |
| Trump Regulation Plan Makes for Pleasant Reading on Wall StreetThe U.S. Treasury Department’s report on bank regulation recommends several changes that would greatly benefit top Wall Street institutions |
| China Tightens Ship in Case of Fed Rate StormChinese markets have calmed after a regulatory “storm” that sparked deep selloffs this spring. But recent moves show that policy makers are still worried about a midyear liquidity crunch as the Fed prepares to raise rates. |
| GE’s Challenge: Bring Good Things Back to LifeA fresh face will be leading General Electric. Next up for the industrial giant: freshening up shareholder returns. |
| How should parents divide their assets between their children and stepchildren?This man’s father-in-law is wealthy, but he is not married to his wife’s mother. |
| The Fed: Here’s what the Fed will signal when it hikes interest ratesThe Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this week and signal it is staying on course for more moves this year. |
| ETF Focus: A new ETF is making a bet that a company’s most prized asset isn’t in its balance sheetBefore deciding whether they will put their money into a stock, investors can scour the company’s financial statements, looking at its various measures of valuation and its past performance. But what if one of the most valuable parts of the company was intangible, something that wouldn’t get a line on quarterly balance sheets? |
Earnings Summary for Today
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