Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Higher

US index futures are higher this morning as investors wait to hear the data on US existing home sales in February. A consensus estimate calls for an annualized adjusted figure of 4.6 million, up slightly from 4.57 million in January. In Europe, the UK’s budget deficit in February was double what had been expected, but the markets appear to have shrugged that off. In Asia, the slowdown in China continues to weight on equity and commodity markets.

At about 8:00 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is up 0.21% at 7,069.51 and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.12%, at 3,534.96. In London, the FTSE 100 is up 0.11%, at 5,898.07.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -0.15%, at 20,856.60. The Nikkei closed down -0.55% at 10,086.50 and the Shanghai exchange closed up 0.06%, at 2,378.20.

Dow futures are up 0.23%, at 13,138.00. The Nasdaq is up 0.15%, at 2,739.50 and the S&P is up 0.24%, at 1,403.30.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is weaker against the euro, but stronger versus the Japanese yen and the British pound. The US dollar index is down -0.03% at 79.569.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are higher this morning, with WTI up 0.49% at $106.59/barrel and Brent is up 0.19% at $124.36/barrel. Gold is up 0.08% this morning, at $1,648.30/ounce.

Paul Ausick