By James Langton
(October 27 – 09:30 EST) – S&P futures are pointing to a positive open on Wall Street. Gold was up overnight in London. However markets just about everywhere else in the world are down.
In the U.S., durable goods orders were down 1.3% in September – the first drop in five months. This has some traders optimistic about the inflation picture in the U.S. Although the more important Employment Cost Index and GDP numbers are due out tomorrow and Friday.
In Europe, markets are all down this morning, primarily on U.S. inflation fears The FTSE 100 is off about 35 points in London. The German DAX is down 17 points and the French CAC 40 is down about nine. Traders in Europe appear to be convinced that a 25 basis-point hike is imminent in Europe.
Overnight in Asia stocks were knocked around on continued interest rate fears and conttinued strength in the Yen. In Japan the markets sold strongly, with the Nikkei closing down 289 points on the day. In Hong Kong trading was a little more subdued after some big drops earlier in the week. The Hang Seng closed off about 88 points on the day, bouncing off earlier lows.
In other business news, Placer Dome is set to announce earnings today – consensus expectations call for 7¢ per share, down from12¢ in the quarter a year ago.
Assante Corp. is announcing that it has acquired a sports management firm in Newport, Ca. for an undisclosed amount of cash and up to $75 million in stock.