The main US equity benchmarks are now being called to open lower by 0.4 per cent on average. That despite what seemed to be encouraging remarks from Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke last night and after some weak economic data and company results this morning.

Worth noting, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch strategist Mary Ann Bartels is reported to now be expecting up to a 10% correction in the S&P 500 from current levels after a "strong" rally.

Amongst the companies which have underperformed analysts´ expectations today are:
Aetna, Celgene, UPS, H&R Block, Crocs and Dow Chemical.

Tech firms such as Emulex and Cirrus Logic, on the other hand, have beat forecasts.

Unemployment claims stay higher than foreseen

Initial weekly unemployment claims have come in at 388,000, versus the 375,000 expected by the market consensus.

Sharp rise in Treasuries

10 year Treasuries are now rising by 14/32 dollars, with yields at 1.93%.

Front month West Texas crude futures are now falling by 0.03% to the 104.98 dollar mark.

AB

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