Equity futures are pointing toward a lower open as concerns over Bank of America and Citigroup needing more capital added to prevailing bearish sentiment.
What To Watch For In The US Session
• Citigroup and Bank of America Expected To Need More Capital
• “Swine Flu” Status Raised To Alarm Level 4 by WHO
• Consumer Confidence On Tap
Concerns That Bank of America and Citigroup Need Additional Funding Threaten To Sink Markets
Equity futures are pointing toward a lower open as concerns over Bank of America and Citigroup needing more capital added to prevailing bearish sentiment. A WSJ article is reporting that regulators told the beleaguered banks that they would need to raise billions of dollars in additional funding. Meanwhile, the fundamental calendar today has the potential to provide some optimism as consumer confidence is projected to have risen to 29.9 from 26.0, but those figures could be meaningless if current events reverse the improving outlook. Additionally, the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-20 gauge is expected to show a slight improvement in home values to -18.70 from -18.97 adding further evidence that the housing market is beginning to bottom. The Richmond Fed manufacturing indicator is also forecasted to improve to -17 from -20 signaling that the U.S. recession may be slowing. Nevertheless, additional banking concerns and the lingering concerns raised by the “swine flu” could spark increasing risk aversion leading markets lower on the day.
Dow Jones 8025.00
The DJIA futures have been down triple digits throughout overnight trading as the banking concerns has raised concerns that the credit crisis is far from over. We could see financials trade significantly lower on the day dragging the blue chip index lower.
NASDAQ 1679.41
The Nasdaq is also expected to see be weighed by the banking concerns and the increasing fears over the health crisis. Tech stocks have seen the significant support during recent bullish momentum and we start to see profit talking as concerns grow.
S&P 500 857.51
The S&P 500 could be weighed by the banking concerns as well. However, if fears subside and we see strong fundamental data then losses could be limited.
Current Snap Shot
