WSJ: Factory Data Squeeze Futures

仁者深潜

Factory Data Squeeze Futures



| A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP

Stock futures moved sharply lower on Monday after a discouraging report on New York-area manufacturing and a decline in commodities prices.

Less than an hour before the start of trading in New York, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 95 points. Blue chips finally clawed into positive territory for the year to date Friday, climbing 0.3% above their closing level for 2008. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also slid. Futures trading doesn't always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.


The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Survey declined to -9.41 from -4.55 in May as new orders remained weak and a gauge of shipments declined sharply. More than half of the survey's respondents said that they had pared capital spending this year.

The New York-area data are seen as an important precursor to national reports, and shares of many large manufacturers were lower in recent trade. Caterpillar sank by more than 1.5%, Deere was down by 1.7% and General Electric shares fell 0.5%.

Stock markets were also weighed down by a fall in commodities prices brought on by strengthening in the dollar. The dollar rose against the euro after Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that his country has confidence in the U.S. currency and the dollar's role as the primary global reserve currency is unlikely to change.

Crude-oil futures declined 48 cents to $71.55 a barrel in recent trading. Oil was cushioned somewhat by reaction to Iran's presidential election and fresh claims of militant claims of attacks on Nigerian oil-producing infrastructure.

Oil-company stocks declined. Sunoco was down by nearly 3%, ConocoPhillips fell 1.4%, and Chevron sank 1.4%. Copper prices were also pressured by the dollar's gains, causing a drop of more than 5% in shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Gold miner Barrick Gold dropped more than 3% as gold prices fell below $940 an ounce.

Treasury prices were up slightly. The 10-year note rose 7/32, yielding 3.76%.

Stocks fell overseas. The pan-Europe Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 1.5%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell nearly 1%.