The main overnight move occurred around 1:15 am EDT following this online Nikkei report. Financial markets have since retraced much of that move.
- Nikkei Speculates That Summers to be Nominated for Fed chair soon – The online report from unnamed sources claimed that a Summers nomination could be announced as soon as next week after the FOMC meeting (and Lael Brainard as vice-chairman). Right after that report’s release, 10 year yields ticked up 2.5 bps, SPX futures declined 4 points, and the dollar broadly rallied, but those initial moves have since mostly retraced, with most major markets trading near unchanged.
- Asia Ends Week Mostly Higher – After strong moves higher on Monday and Tuesday, almost all equity indices in Asia have hardly moved in the last 3 days of the week. The indices were mostly lower today, but none more than 1% (and Japan actually ended the day higher by 0.1% on yen weakness). No major economic releases today.
- Twitter Hints at IPO – The company filed with the SEC under the JOBS Act (for companies with less than $1 billion in revenue), though there is no necessary timeline for an eventual IPO. The company has previously said that it is targeting $1 billion of revenues in 2014.
- Commodities Lower, Led by Precious Metals – Gold broke below its 50 day moving average for the first time in more than a month. Silver is lower too, but showing relative strength, still above its 50 day ma. Oil is also 0.5% lower, while copper is flat.
- Europe Opens Slightly Red – Similar to Asia, European equities had a strong start to the week, but have hardly moved in the second half of the week. The Euro Stoxx 50 is trying to hold its breakout above the 2850-2855 area (the high from May and August) from earlier this week. Most European indices are down 0.1-0.5% in the first hour of trading. No major economic releases today.