Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher Again

US index futures are higher this morning following on expectations of continuing improvement in the US economic picture. The employment report from ADP shows new job gains of 170,000 in January, slightly lower than the consensus estimate of 172,000. Later…

Published February 1, 2012, 8:30am ET · 1 min read

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US index futures are higher this morning following on expectations of continuing improvement in the US economic picture. The employment report from ADP shows new job gains of 170,000 in January, slightly lower than the consensus estimate of 172,000. Later this morning the ISM manufacturing index is also expected to post a slight gain, but there are hopes for better. In China, January loan originations totaled less than 1 trillion yuan for the first time in three years. The Europeans are still trying to reach a conclusion on the Greek debt swap deal.

At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is up 2.2% at 6,600.97 and France’s CAC 40 is up 1.50%, at 3,348.09. In London, the FTSE 100 is up 1.38%, at 5,759.77.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -0.28%, at 20,333.40 and the Nikkei index closed up 0.08%, at 8,809.79. The Shanghai exchange closed down -1.07%, at 2,268.08.

Dow futures are up 0.72%, at 12,667.00. The Nasdaq 100 is up 0.52%, at 2,477.00 and the S&P is up 0.67%, at 1,316.90.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is weaker against the British pound, the euro, and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is down -0.535% at 78.854.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are higher this morning, with WTI up 0.39% at $98.86/barrel and Brent is up 1.07% at $112.17/barrel. Gold is up 0.43% this morning, at $1,747.90/ounce.

Paul Ausick

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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