Thursday morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-Z2) traded lower by 1.50 points to $1406.75 per contract. It seems that traders and investors are trying to digest all of the news coming out of the European Union today. Earlier, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of England (BOE) both kept their key interest rate unchanged. This news was somewhat expected by investors.
The European markets are mixed today, the German DAX is trading higher by 0.90 percent and the FTSE MIB (Italy) is trading lower by 0.95 percent on the trading session. Traders should continue to follow the U.S. Dollar Index very closely. Remember, the stock markets in the U.S. and the European Union seem to trade inverse to the U.S. Dollar Index.
Wednesday night, the major Asian stock indexes were mixed. The Nikkei 225 (Japan) was the big winner in Asia closing higher by 0.80 percent. This tells us that the Japanese ADR's could be strong today if the U.S. markets are strong. Some leading Japanese equities that could be in play today include Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (TM), Honda Motor LTD (HMC), Sony Corp (SNE), and Canon Inc (CAJ) to name a few. These stocks may not have much upside in the cards if the U.S. markets are weak.
Below you may find the video.