4 Things To Read Before Trading Today

From the Desk of Lou Brien

1. Stocks were mixed overnight in Asia. Australia lost 0.8%, but the Nikkei, Hang Seng and Shanghai were essentially unchanged on the session. European indexes are broadly lower with most of the selling occurring in the last half hour or so; the Dax is currently down 0.4% and the Footsie is three quarters of a percent down. US stock futures are lower by a half to three quarters of a percent as I write.
2. The dollar/euro has weakened in the last half hour and the cross is now trading at 1.2110, down more than fifty pips on the day and below the key support level at 1.2134, the mid-point of the historical range. There is some unconfirmed chatter about FX oriented trouble at Soc Gen, and there are heightened concerns about Hungary’s debt in the wake of an official comment that talk of a default is no exaggeration.
3. The May reading of the Unemployment Situation Report is due out at 7:30am CDT. The Unemployment Rate is expected to fall one tenth to 9.8%, the Non-farm Payrolls are forecast to rise 536k overall, but the average estimate for the private sector is +180k. The estimate of Average Hourly Wages is +0.1% on a monthly basis and the Average Work Week is expected to be steady at 34.1 hours.
4. Atlanta Fed boss Lockhart is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook to a group of bankers at 8:30am CDT.