The S&P 500 has gained 4.1%, or 42.2 points in the past two days. This morning stock futures are mixed.
One hour before the opening bell, Dow futures are up 2 points to 10,094 and S&P 500 futures are down 1.00 point to 1,066. NYMEX Light crude oil futures are down 0.12 to 75.28 and Gold is up $5.70 to $1,201.80 per ounce.
The 2-year Treasury note yield is 0.04 basis points higher at 0.625% and the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is 0.04 bps lower at 3.034%.
The August delivery Fannie Mae 4.0 MBS coupon is +0-07 at 101-09. The August delivery Fannie Mae 4.5 MBS coupon is +0-04 at 103-18.
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Yesterday’s semi-annual currency report from the U.S. Treasury was notable for not calling China a currency manipulator. The report did say the the yuan is undervalued but it praised Beijing for its “significant” decision to loosen its peg to the dollar ― a decision some economists have called meaningless.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd disagreed with the assessment and plans to have Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testify on the report. Fellow Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer called the report “as disappointing as it is unsurprising,” adding: “It’s clear it will take an act of Congress to do the obvious and call China out for its currency manipulation.”
Key Events Today:
10:00 ― Wholesale Inventories rose by 0.4% in April, marking the fourth straight month of growth but at a pace slightly less than consensus expectations. In May, inventories should once again rise 0.4%, with sales also climbing 0.4%. The gains indicate that business confidence is improving enough for merchants to restock their inventories in expectation of future sales.
“The inventory to sales ratio will remain low, which is a sign that the restocking process is not yet near the end,” said economists at BBVA. “As a result, inventories are expected to have another significant positive impact on economic growth in the second quarter. In addition, they remain an important driver of industrial production.”
Economists at Nomura only expect a 0.2% gain in inventories. which they note compares with a +0.6% average gain from the past few months.
“The ISM manufacturing report indicated that stockpiling slowed recently, which we believe will begin to show in inventory statistics,” they wrote. “However, we believe the contribution from inventories to GDP growth is still likely to be substantial in Q2.”