Morning Wire -- US Stock-Index Futures Down Sharply

US index futures are down significantly this morning as investors continue to react negatively to yesterday’s release of FOMC minutes. No one seems to believe that the US economy can grow unless the Fed applies more stimulus (our coverage here). The ADP employment report is due this morning as is the ISM report on services PMI. In Europe, markets are down following the Spanish bond auction (our coverage here) and a PMI report from Markit Economics (our coverage here). In Asia, Australia reported a surprise trade deficit which tamped down the Japanese market. The Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges were closed today.

At about 8:15 a.m. ET, Germany’s DAX is down -1.74% at 6,860.79 and France’s CAC 40 is down -1.43% at 3,358.03. In London, the FTSE 100 is down -1.15%, at 5,770.93.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed down -2.29% at 9,819.99. The Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges were closed today.

Dow futures are down -0.74%, at 13,035.00. The Nasdaq is down -0.68%, at 2,760.00 and the S&P is down -0.75%, at 1,398.30.

In the currency markets, the US dollar is stronger against the euro a;nd the British pound, and weaker versus the Japanese yen. The US dollar index is up 0.27% at 79.694.

In commodities, WTI and Brent crude are lower this morning, with WTI down -1.02% at $102.95/barrel and Brent is down -0.54% at $124.19/barrel. Gold is down -2.7% this morning, at $1,626.90/ounce.

Paul Ausick