OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Jun E-mini S&Ps (ESM16 -0.20%) are down -0.28% and European stocks are down -0.95% on negative carryover from yesterday’s late afternoon slide in stocks after the Apr 26-27 FOMC meeting minutes suggested that Fed members may want to raise interest rates as soon as their June meeting. The possibility of a June rate hike by the Fed has boosted the dollar index to a 1-1/2 month high, which has undercut commodity prices with crude oil (CLM16 -1.87%) down -1.83% and gold (GCM16 -1.56%) down -1.53% at a 3-week low. The sell-off in commodities has dragged down energy and raw material producers as well as mining stocks. Asian stocks settled mostly lower: Japan +0.01%, Hong Kong -0.67%, China -0.02%, Taiwan -0.78%, Australia -0.61%, Singapore -1.33%, South Korea -0.33%, India -1.19%. Chinese stocks fell and the yuan tumbled to a 2-1/2 month low against the dollar on concern that rising U.S. interest rates may exacerbate Chinese capital outflows. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Index bucked the trend of weaker global stocks and climbed to a 3-week high after a rally in USD/JPY to a 3-week high lifted Japanese exporter stocks on improved earnings prospects.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.19%) is up +0.19% at a 1-1/2 month high. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.12% at a 1-1/2 month low. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.21% as it falls back from a 3-week high.

Jun T-note prices (ZNM16 +0.02%) are little changed, up +0.5 of a tick.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected -19,000 to 275,000, previous +20,000 to 294,000) and Weekly continuing claims (expected -3,000 to 2.158 million, previous +37,000 to 2.161 million), (2) Apr Chicago national activity index (expected +0.24 to -0.20, Mar -0.05 to -0.44), (3) May Philadelphia Fed business outlook index (expected +4.6 to 3.0, Apr -14.0 to -1.6), (4) Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer (voter) delivers remarks at an event in New York, (5) Apr leading indicators (expected +0.4%, Mar +0.2%), (6) New York Fed President William Dudley (voter) delivers remarks on macroeconomic trends at a press briefing in New York, (7) Treasury auctions $11 billion of 10-year TIPS, (8) G-7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meet near Sendai, Japan, and (9) USDA weekly Export Sales.

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