Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are down 15 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 81 points and are trading 0.4% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 70 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.

There's a negative bias in early trading after recent gains. Downside moves are relatively muted thus far as investors wait on potentially market-moving events. 

The events include a phone call between President Trump and Russian President Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, along with a slate of US economic data.

Housing starts and building permits for February are released at 8:30 ET. Industrial production and capacity utilization for February are released at 9:15 ET.

In corporate news:

• Alphabet (GOOG 166.15, -0.42, -0.3%): in advanced talks to purchase Wiz, a cybersecurity startup, for around $30 bln, according to WSJ
• NVIDIA (NVDA 119.13, -0.40, -0.3%): amid annual GTC developers conference, CEO Jensen Huang gives keynote speech today
• Wells Fargo (WFC 70.85, +0.01, +0.01%): confirms termination of 2021 OCC loss mitigation consent order
• Steel Dynamics (STLD 124.94, 0.0, 0.0%): guides Q1 EPS below consensus

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region had a positive showing on Tuesday with Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+2.5%) reaching a level not seen since early 2022. Japan's Nikkei: +1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +2.5%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.1%, India's Sensex: +1.5%, South Korea's Kospi: +0.1%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.1%.
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's January Tertiary Industry Activity Index -10.0 (last 7.4)
    • Hong Kong's February Unemployment Rate 3.2% (last 3.1%)
  • In news:
    • Electric vehicle manufacturer BYD was among the leaders after announcing a rapid charging system.
    • Japanese brokerages also outperformed after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in the group.
    • President Trump said that China's President Xi will visit in the near future.
    • The Bank of Japan will meet overnight but a rate hike is not expected at this time.
• Major European indices trade in the green. STOXX Europe 600: +0.7%, Germany's DAX: +1.4%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.4%, France's CAC 40: +0.6%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +1.1%, Spain's IBEX 35: +1.2%.
  • In economic data:
    • Eurozone's March ZEW Economic Sentiment 39.8 (expected 43.6; last 24.2). January trade surplus EUR1.0 bln (expected surplus of EUR14.0 bln; last surplus of EUR15.4 bln)
    • Germany's March ZEW Economic Sentiment 51.6 (expected 48.1; last 26.0) and ZEW Current Conditions -87.6 (expected -80.5; last -88.5)
    • Italy's January trade deficit EUR264 mln (expected surplus of EUR5.15 bln; last surplus of EUR5.82 bln)
    • Spain's January trade deficit EUR6.19 bln (last deficit of EUR4.12 bln)
  • In news:
    • Bank of America reports investors are cutting U.S. equity exposure at record levels, reallocating to eurozone stocks, with Euronext's CEO highlighting increased capital inflows.
    • UniCredit secured ECB approval to raise its stake in Commerzbank, though the German bank insists on remaining independent.
    • Meanwhile, WisdomTree launched the first European-only defense ETF, reflecting growing focus on the region's defense sector.
    • Germany's parliament will vote on a reform of debt rules later today.