This morning's S&P 500 e-mini futures (ES-U2) were trading lower by five points to 1392.00 per contract. The decline in the futures market comes as reality hits home in light of Europe's debt crisis. Earlier today, Germany reported weaker economic data, which is causing some money to flow back into the U.S. dollar. Obviously, when the U.S. Dollar Index is higher most leading European stock indexes will trade lower, which is just what we're seeing this morning.
The USD's Inverse Impact
Always remember, though, that when the Dollar Index inflates, major stock indexes around the world tend to deflate. If the U.S. Dollar Index starts to pullback or decline, look for most of the leading equities to inflate and trade higher.
Equities To Watch
Some leading equities that will likely be in play today include iShares MSCI Italy Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA: EWI), ProShares UltraShort Euro (ETF) (NYSEARCA: EUO), Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE: SAN) and the National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE: NBG) to name a few. Each of these stocks will be affected by the trading action in the U.S. Dollar Index.