Report, Bombings Cause Stir in Markets
T-bond futures
June T-bonds [USM9>USM9] gained 11 ticks today as the Durable Goods report showed a significant drop (-5%) in heavy equipment purchases. Although this number was bigger than expected, and the bonds managed to get a rally out of it, the market impact was still modest because some viewed this drop as a temporary situation.
There are still fears that the overall economy is heating up. The Fed will meet March 30, and this could provide some good trading opportunities. For now we watch and wait.
Currency futures
The June Swiss franc [SFM9>SFM9] and the Euro were both down a little today as yesterday’s stock market sell-off has put pressure on the dollar.
The NATO air strikes have introduced some additional pressure, as a war will further weigh on the equity market, and in turn, the dollar. We were looking to sell any rally today but we never got the chance.
S&P 500 futures
The June S&P [SPM9>SPM9] bounced back a little after yesterday’s sell-off. We feel there will be a good selling opportunity in the next day or so as the short-term down trend resumes.
Next scheduled update: Friday, March 26, 1999
(Check “Today’s Schedule” every day on our home page to find out about additional updates.)