Even
though the Federal Reserve's latest statement on interest rates and the economy
helped Wall Street cut its losses during the Tuesday session, U.S. stock index
futures are pointing to another slide this morning, on continuing concerns about
the global economic recovery. We're continuing to see fallout from the Fed
statement this morning, with the 2-year note reaching a record low yield once
again, and the dollar dropping near a 15-year low against the Japanese yen.
With
the July jobs report and the Fed meeting now past, investors are likely to
concentrate on fresh economic data that might or might not provide more
clarity.
Wednesday
morning at 8:30am ET, the government releases the June trade deficit figures,
with economists looking for a June gap of $42.7 billion. That would be little
changed from the May figure of $42.3 billion. And at 2pm, the Treasury issues
July federal budget figures, expected to show a July deficit of $169.5 billion,
compared to a June deficit of $180.7 billion.
Among
weekly stats, the Mortgage Bankers Association will issue its mortgage
applications report at 7am ET, and the EIA will be out with its oil and gasoline
inventory report at 10:30am ET.
The
Treasury will sell $24 billion in 10-year notes today, following a 3-year note
auction Tuesday that saw a record low yield. The results of today's auction, as
usual, will be available shortly after 1pm ET.
Despite
the expected lower opening, the Dow should receive some support from Walt Disney
(DIS), which reported quarterly earnings that beat Street estimates after
Tuesday's closing bell. But fellow Dow component Verizon (VZ) could be under
some pressure, as S&P says it may cut the company's debt ratings because of
its high leverage.
Research
In Motion (RIMM) shares could move today, although it's not clear in which
direction. RIM's positive news for shareholders is the announcement of a nearly
$80 million stock buyback, but on the flip side, India is the latest country
threatening to ban some BlackBerry services from operating.
The
earnings calendar is relatively light once again today, though retailer Macy's
(M) and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) will serve up their quarterly
numbers before the opening bell. This afternoon's after-the-bell reports are
highlighted by quarterly numbers from Dow component Cisco Systems
(CSCO).
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