Posts Tagged ‘ldquo’

Investors are once again concerned about risk as Greece continues to make headlines. Equity futures are sharply lower and appear likely to erase a good bit of yesterday’s gains. Meantime, the dollar is pushing higher. “The centre of controversy or uncertainty lies in Europe, and it all began early yesterday evening after Standard & Poor’s issued a report warning that it may cut Greece’s sovereign debt rating in the next month,” said Jennifer Lee from BMO Capital Markets. S&P wrote: “Greece's large budgetary and external imbalances, combined with a continued weak external economic environment, suggest that deflationary pressures are likely to compound the country's economic travails.” One hour before the open, Dow futures are off 55 points...(read more)

Global equity markets have reacted negatively to the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike the discount rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% after the closing bell yesterday. The Fed Funds rate remains in the zero to 0.25% range and in the policy statement the bank reiterated that rates will be kept low for “an extended period.” But no matter ― stocks in Asia and Europe sank in reaction, including by more by than 2% in Japan and Hong Kong. In the US, the Dow looks to open 40 points lower at 10,335. Around 75 minutes before the opening bell, futures on the S&P 500 are off 6.2 points to 1,099.40. Also, WTI Crude oil is trading lower by $1.07 to $77.99 per barrel and Spot Gold is off 15 cents to $1,108.55. “Financial markets aren’t buying the Fed’s story that the...(read more)