On April 6, 2012, the U.S. Labor Department reported a terrible nonfarm payroll report for the month of March. The report stated that only 120,000 jobs were created in the United States. This number was much lower than analysts had expected and futures markets all traded lower.
This morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures are trading lower by 15.00 points to 1375.25 per contract on the back of that news. As always, traders should keep a close eye on the U.S. Dollar Index after the opening bell rings at the New York Stock Exchange. Often, if the U.S. Dollar Index declines, the major stock and commodity indexes will inflate and trade higher.
Last night, all of the important Asian markets traded lower on the session. The Nikkei 225 Index (Japan), and the Sensex Index (India) declined the most finishing lower by 1.50 percent. This tells us that many of the leading Japanese and Indian ADR's could be under early selling pressure. Traders should watch for leading stocks such as Canon Inc. (ADR)(NYSE:CAJ), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Tata Motors Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TTM), and Infosys Ltd ADR (NASDAQ:INFY) to be in play today.