Why The Dovish ECB Isn’t Good For Stocks
What’s in Today’s Report:
- Why The Dovish ECB Decision Isn’t Good for Stocks
Futures are modestly lower following more disappointing economic data.
Chinese exports badly missed expectations at –20.7% vs. (E) -6.5%, although that number was likely skewed by the Lunar New Year, so it’s not as bad as it looks. German Manufacturers’ Orders also missed (-2.6% vs. (E) 0.5%). So, the data overnight is just adding to the growth worries that came from the ECB projections yesterday and that’s why stocks are down again.
Today the key will be the Employment Situation Report. Estimates are: Jobs: 178K, UE: 3.9%, Wages: 3.4% yoy), and thankfully the range for a “Just Right” number is wide, as we said in our Jobs Report Preview. But, given the recent soft global economic data, while the range for a “Just Right” number is wide, the penalty for a number being “Too Cold” and causing growth concerns or “Too Hot” and resulting in a hawkish Fed will be extreme, and if either one of those outcomes occur, it’ll likely be a painful day in stocks.
Outside of the jobs report we also get Housing Starts (E: 1.17M) and two Fed Speakers: Daly (10:00 a.m. ET) and Powell (10:00 p.m. ET).
