Reply #24: pre-open blather

[ozymandius]

08:57 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.0. Futures trade continues to signal a downside open for the stock market. As had been the case yesterday, rising energy prices are weighing on trade. At this point, crude is up 0.5% to $62.05 per barrel. Natural gas has gained 2.3%, gasoline is 1.4% higher, and heating oil has advanced 1.0%. Expectations for colder temperatures helped prompt the rebounds yesterday. Geopolitical tensions and supply concerns will continue to garner attention and support prices.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.5. The February Retail Sales report has been released. Total retail sales declined a more than expected 1.3% last month, versus the 0.9% decline that analysts had expected. That followed a surprisingly strong 2.3% gain in January. Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.4% in February; analysts had forecasted a 0.5% decline. Meanwhile, the Current Account checked in at -$224.9 billion versus the -$218 billion consensus estimate. Separately, Goldman Sachs (GS) delivered a blowout Q1 report over the past half hour. Its results appear to be tempering the effect of the weaker than expected retail sales data, and future trade is holding steady. The cash market remains headed towards a downside start.