Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Flat

US index futures are basically flat this morning as investors wait for the latest report on new home sales in the US. Expectations call for an increase from January’s 321,000 to 330,000. Existing home sales reported earlier this week were mostly inline, but not outstanding. In Europe, investors have continued to react negatively to yesterday’s reports of a slowdown in China. In Asia, expectations for growth have weakened following yesterday’s PMI reports from Europe and China.

At about 8:00 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -0.34% at 6,957.25 and France’s CAC 40 is down -0.63%, at 3,450.71. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -0.25%, at 5,831.29.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index closed down -1.11%, at 20,668.80. The Nikkei closed down -1.14% at 10,011.50 and the Shanghai exchange closed down -1.10%, at 2,349.54.

Dow futures are down -0.17%, at 12,979.00. The Nasdaq is up 0.03%, at 2,732.00 and the S&P is down -0.09%, at 1,387.60.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is weaker against the euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is down -0.27% at 79.523.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are higher this morning, with WTI up 0.16% at $105.52/barrel and Brent is up 0.46% at $123.71/barrel. Gold is up 0.38% this morning, at $1,648.80/ounce.

Paul Ausick