Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Lower

US index futures are lower this morning, as exchanges in Europe and Asia are all trading down. In Europe, Greece is not responding well to more pressure from Germany, which seems to be saying it doesn’t matter whether or not Greece defaults. Moody’s announcement that it would be reviewing ratings on several major banks has also weighed on equities. Yesterday’s release of minutes from the US FOMC, which indicated little likelihood of another round of easing, is also pressuring stocks.

At about 8:30 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -1.10% at 6,683.49 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.75%, at 3,364.89. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.71%, at 5,850.43.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -0.41%, at 21,277.30 and the Nikkei index closed down -0.24%, at 9,238.10. The Shanghai exchange closed down -0.42%, at 2,356.86.

Dow futures are down -0.24%, at 12,733.00. The Nasdaq 100 is down -0.19%, at 2,552.75 and the S&P is down -0.35%, at 1,337.50.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the euro, the Japanese yen, and the British pound. The US dollar index is up 0.40% at 80.043.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are mixed this morning, with WTI down -0.77% at $101.02/barrel and Brent is up 0.10% at $119.05/barrel. Gold is down -0.66% this morning, at $1,716.70/ounce.

Paul Ausick