Opening Bell: U.S. Futures Hold Ground Despite Bleak IMF Outlook; Oil Pops

 | Apr 10, 2019 06:37

  • Europe, U.S. futures hold onto green territory after mixed Asian session
  • Yields fall below 2.5% as investors rotate into safety on lower IMF growth outlook, trade tariffs headwinds
  • Pound climbs on reports the EU may opt for 1-year Brexit delay
    • h2 Key Events/h2

    Europe's STOXX 600 and futures on the S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ 100 crawled higher this morning, following a mixed Asian session dominated by the effect of new tariff threats from the White House and by a further reduction, from the International Monetary Fund, of the global economic outlook—to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

    Japan’s Nikkei 225 (-0.53%) and Hong kong’s Hang Seng (-0.13%) slid lower, while China’s Shanghai Composite (+0.07%) and South Korea’s KOSPI (+0.49%) edged higher.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    In Tuesday’s U.S. session, equities ended the longest winning streak in a year and a half, as investors sought safety and rotated into Treasurys amid concerns of a slowing economy and lingering trade tensions.

    The S&P 500 (-0.61%) halted a nine-day rally, after U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of higher tariffs on a batch of European goods hit multinationals stocks such as Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) particularly harshly. Airlines shares led by Boeing (NYSE:BA) remained under pressure after Trump's move re-ignited a 15-year long dispute with Europe over aircraft subsidies that sees the U.S. plane company pit against Franco-German rival Airbus (PA:AIR). Materials stocks also dragged the Dow Jones lower (-0.72%), while energy producers took a hit from the bleak outlook posted by the IMF.