Coffee With Greta: Bank Woes Continue
DJIA Futures: -597 (-1.8%)
SPX Futures: -73 (-1.8%)
NASDAQ Futures: -181 (-1.5%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are sliding as trouble at Credit Suisse overshadows positive inflation data.
Let’s get right to it!
Credit Suisse Trouble Shakes Financial Sector
Credit Suisse (CS) shares are sliding 26.3% ahead of the open as concerns mount about the Swiss bank’s future.
The bank’s largest backer, Saudi National Bank, told Credit Suisse it will not provide further financial support.
The Saudi National Bank chairman said, “We cannot because we would go above 10%. It’s a regulatory issue.”
SNB currently holds a 9.9% stake in Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse shares hit a fresh all-time low following that news.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) is down 3.4% in premarket trade while the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is down 4.7%.
Wholesale Inflation Falls
U.S. wholesale prices fell unexpectedly in February, in a good sign for inflation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index fell 0.1% monthly and rose 4.6% annually.
That was better than economists’ expectations for a 0.3% monthly increase.
It also marked a decline from the 0.3% monthly and 5.7% annual increase in January.
Excluding food, energy, and trade, the core PPI rose 0.2% monthly and 4.4% annually last month.
That was better than expected and lower than January.
Retail Sales Slide
Retail sales dropped in February as consumers spent less at department stores, auto dealers, and restaurants.
The Census Bureau report shows retail sales fell 0.4% last month to $697.9 billion.
Spending dropped 4% at department stores, 2.5% at furniture retailers, 2.2% at restaurants and bars, and 2.0% at auto dealerships.
Empire State Manufacturing Index Tumbles
A key gauge of the U.S. manufacturing sector weakened significantly this month.
The New York Fed’s Empire State manufacturing index tumbled 18.8 points to -24.6.
That was down sharply from -5.8 in February and worse than expectations for -7.8.
Any reading below zero indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity.
New orders dropped 13.9 points to -21.7 while six-month business expectations fell 1.8 points to 2.9.
Coming Up: Homebuilder Sentiment
The National Association of Homebuilders releases its March sentiment index at 10:00 a.m. ET.
That survey is expected to decline to 40 this month from 42 in February.
Homebuilders have been feeling more confident about the housing market in recent months, with the sentiment index rising.
But it still remains below the key 50 level which indicates negative sentiment.
In Case You Missed It
- Meta Platforms (META) shares jumped 7.3% Tuesday after the company announced more layoffs. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social media giant will lay off 10,000 more workers over the next couple of months in addition to the previous cuts announced in November. Meta expects the cuts to results in $3 to $5 billion in restructuring costs.