subject: What to know before trading today [print this page] *Stocks were mixed in Asian trade*Stocks were mixed in Asian trade. The Nikkei was the big gainer with an increase of 2.3%, Australia added three quarters of a percent and the Hang Seng was up a fraction, but Shanghai lost 1.3% on the session. European indexes are generally lower on the day with the Dax and Footsie both currently off by a fraction and the same can be said of US stock futures as I write.
*Japan intervened in the FX market for the first time since 2004. With the dollar/yen at a fifteen year low below 83.00 and the euro/yen near a nine year low the Japanese sold their currency down, currently at 85.30 versus the dollar and 110.85 against the euro.
*The September reading of Australia's Westpac Consumer Confidence fell to -5.0 from 5.4 the month before.
*The August reading of Foreign Direct Investment in China was up for the thirteenth consecutive month but it was only 1.4% more than a year earlier, down from a 29% gain in July.
*The September reading of Switzerland's ZEW Survey of Expectations of Economic Growth fell to -5.1 from 9.1 the previous month, the first negative result since May 2009.
*The July reading of the UK Unemployment Rate was steady at 7.8% as anticipated. In August the net change in the number of jobless benefits claimants was +2.3k, but had been expected to fall 3.0k.
*US mortgage applications fell 8.9% in the week ended September 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for purchase were off 0.4% but applications for refinancing fell 10.8%.
*The August reading of the Import Price Index is due out at 7:30am CDT, it is expected to be +0.3% on a month on month basis. Also due out at 7:30am is the September reading of the Empire State Manufacturing Index, forecast to improve by one point on the month to 8.0. The August readings of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization are due to be released at 8:15am CDT. Production is expected to rise 0.2% on a monthly basis and the estimate for Capacity Utilization is 75.0%, up two tenths from the month before.
*The House Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing at 9:00am CDT on China's FX policy.
*The weekly report on energy inventories is due out at 9:30am CDT. Stocks of Crude Oil are forecast to fall 2.5 million barrels, Gasoline inventories are expected to decline 625k and the estimate for Distillates is +650k.
*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 9/30/14 and 8/31/16; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CDT.
