Stocks, commodities fall as dollar rises
Evan McDaniel | evan.mcdaniel@optionmonster.com
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Equity indexes futures declined overnight as commodities softened going into the weekend.
The S&P 500 futures are lower by 4.90 points to 1305.10 but remain above a key support level of 1301. Nasdaq 100 contracts are down 9.75 points to 2520.50.
A rising U.S. dollar is behind much of the weakness in commodity prices. Dollar futures are higher against the euro by 0.86 percent to 82.80, the greenback's highest level since Monday.
European stocks are lower along with the euro. The German DAX is down 0.92 percent after weaker-than-expected export data from Germany snapped the index's winning streak.
Asian indexes are lower as well, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 2.09 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng off 0.94 percent. Copper is down 2.78 percent to 3.2785.
Crude oil futures are down by a large margin of 2.93 percent to 82.35. The 83 support level in has converted into resistance; 82 remains support.
Spot gold futures are down 7.10 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1581.10. The contracts dropped as low as 1556.40 last night.
In stock-specific news, Freeport-McMoran is down because of copper's weakness. Shares of JP Morgan are lower by more than 1 percent after European banking shares saw early selling. Citigroup is trading lower as well.
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