By Barbara Kollmeyer and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures drop over 1% in 20-minute
stretch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures trimmed dramatic
losses seen during Asian trading hours on Wednesday, taking
inspiration from Europe, where benchmarks rallied after a solid
round of manufacturing data.
Investors were also waiting for a raft of U.S. data, with the
ADP employment report, manufacturing data and car sales on tap.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) were flat at
17,703, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5) dropped 1.80
points, or 0.1%, to 2,059. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NQM5)
climbed 1 point to 4,330.50.
Early selloff: The moves were a sharp reversal from what
happened during Asian hours, when the benchmarks dramatically
weakened as the dollar pitched lower against the yen. "It's not
every day you see Nasdaq and S&P futures dropping 1.3% in
around 20 minutes, and 0.7% in three minutes, especially when risk
FX (such as AUD/USD) or copper didn't go along for the ride," IG
chief market strategist Chris Weston said in a note.
He said there was a lot of "head-scratching" going on over just
what triggered the move. The futures' drop coincided with a fall
for the U.S. dollar against the yen (USDJPY). A lackluster reading
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japans-tankan-sentiment-survey-shows-few-gains-2015-03-31)
from the Bank of Japan's tankan corporate sentiment survey prompted
investors to buy the yen, a perceived safe haven. The yen later
pulled back against the greenback, so that the dollar bought
Yen120.18, up from Yen120.14 late Tuesday in New York.
Appetite for riskier investments was already weak in Asia after
sizable losses Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-fed-speakers-iran-keep-investors-on-edge-as-quarter-ends-2015-03-31)
for Wall Street. The S&P 500 (SPX) finished down 18.35 points,
or 0.9%, at 2,067.89, though it still managed a quarterly gain of
0.4% for its ninth-straight winning quarter.
However, stock futures started to trim losses after the European
markets marched higher after a round of better-than-expected
manufacturing PMI numbers
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-manufacturing-activity-picks-up-in-march-2015-04-01).
Data: Later Wednesday, investors will get another big batch of
U.S. data -- ADP employment for March at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time,
which comes ahead of Friday's nonfarm-payrolls data.After that, the
Markit purchasing managers index is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern.
At 10 a.m. Eastern, the Institute for Supply Management's
manufacturing index for March will be released. It is expected to
have slipped to 52.5% from 52.9% in February
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-slows-in-february-for-fourth-month-2015-03-02).
Construction spending for February comes out at the same
time.
Fed speakers: San Francisco Fed President John Williams
moderates a panel on financial stability at the Atlanta Fed policy
conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Also on the docket today, Atlanta
Fed chief Dennis Lockhart appears on a monetary policy panel at an
Atlanta Fed conference at 11 a.m. Eastern.
Both are voters of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Stocks to watch: Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co.(HPQ) climbed 1.1%
premarket after Jefferies lifted the computer maker to buy.
Jeffries sees "significant longer-term value" not reflected in the
current valuation.
Twitter Inc.(TWTR) picked up 1.4% ahead of the bell after it was
initiated at buy with a $65 price target, also at Jefferies.
Monsanto Co.(MON) is projected to report fiscal second-quarter
earnings of $2.94 a share, according to a consensus estimate by
FactSet.
And Acuity Brands Inc.(AYI) is expected to report fiscal
second-quarter earnings of $1.05 a share.
Other markets: Oil (CLK5) remained under pressure
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) as talks on
Iran's nuclear program resumed in Switzerland after the deadline
was extended.
Metals were mixed, while the dollar marched higher against
almost (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) any other
major currency.
Asian stock markets closed mixed, with China's benchmark
Shanghai Composite Index ending above 3,800 for the first time
since 2008 (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).
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