Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Down Sharply

US index futures are lower this morning as markets continue to react to the never-ending Greek drama. Yesterday’s hope for debt swap deal has unraveled (our coverage here) and next week’s deadline gets closer as a deal slips further out of reach. Elsewhere in Europe, earnings reports have been mixed. In Asia, China reported a drop in both exports and imports, causing Asian markets to slide.

At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -1.65% at 6,676.54 and France’s CAC 40 is down -1.29%, at 3,380.55. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.8%, at 5,848.29.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -1.08%, at 20,783.90 and the Nikkei index closed down -0.61%, at 8,947.17. The Shanghai exchange closed up 0.10%, at 2,351.98.

Dow futures are down -0.69%, at 12,754.00. The Nasdaq 100 is down -0.78%, at 2,541.00 and the S&P is down -0.83%, at 1,337.10.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the British pound, the euro, and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is up 0.386% at 79.003.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are lower this morning, with WTI down -1.44% at $98.40/barrel and Brent is down -1.48% at $116.84/barrel. Gold is down -1.59% this morning, at $1,713.60/ounce.

Paul Ausick