What you need to know before the US open
Yesterday, the S&P 500 closed at a record high of 1,885, but futures suggest a flat to slightly lower open for stocks today.
There’s some noteable economic data for investors to take in, with factory orders for February later on.
Private employers added 191,000 workers in March – marginally below the 195,000 forecast and suggesting the effects of the severe winter weather could finally be melting away.
Mortgage applications fell 1.2 per cent last week – the third weekly fall in March, according to data from the MBA.
Growth in the Eurozone’s been revised down by the European Central Bank. GDP expanded 0.2 per cent in the three months through December – below the 0.3 per cent preliminary measure released in March.
And Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, will be speaking today.
Corporate news
Carlyle’s said it’s begun talks to sell its stake in French company Sermeta.
And fertiliser company Agrium has said first-quarter earnings per share will be just above break-even, because of the late start to spring and railroad-related backlogs.
In pre-market trading, Apollo Education Group lost 3.7 per cent after reporting disappointing earnings.
Data in focus
- 3.00pm: US Feb factory orders
- 9.00pm: Fed’s Bullard speech