(As of 7:05 am PST)
Stocks are struggling to push
higher after Friday’s rally brought the US benchmarks to near all-time record
highs. Economic news at home is light today which has investors looking
overseas for news. Interest rate cuts over the weekend in China had little
effect on US or European markets, while the accommodative policy move sent most
Asian indexes higher, with the Chinese Shanghai Composite rallying 3% on
Monday. Weighing on stocks in Europe and the US are Greece’s bailout talks
which are taking place in Brussels Monday. Greece is scheduled to repay $837
million to the IMF by Tuesday, with little progress being made on negotiations.
As previously mentioned, the economic calendar at home is light today as are
earning reports. Only 14 S&P500 companies are set to report this week as Q1
earnings season winds to a close. Gold is trading flat this morning while
oil is up slightly, near $60 per barrel. Interest rates and the US dollar index
are up. There’s a sense that markets want to push higher but can’t as headwinds
from a Fed rate hike, a slowdown in Chinese growth, and the Greek debt ordeal
are keeping a lid on gains. We could be in for a quiet week.
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