Highlights
A big Thursday for US indicators including producer prices and jobless claims at 8:30 am ET plus existing home sales at 10 am ET. PPI-FD is expected up 0.4 percent on the month for August and up 0.3 percent excluding food and energy. Claims are seen at 208K versus 206K in the previous week. Existing home sales expected lackluster at 3.97 million rate in August, down from 4.06 million in July.
Meanwhile, oil futures prices continue trending higher with WTI crude approaching $100 a barrel and Brent crude well above it at $102.20. This follows another round of strikes and counterstrikes in the Mideast which give the appearance of escalating conflict. Bond yields are higher as the global debt selloff continues with European bond yields leading the move higher given Europe's greater exposure to rising imported energy costs. US Treasury yields are up again in the face of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's bravado about his buyback program aimed at bringing yields down. Markets know Bessent can't control the two main factors driving yields higher -- fiscal deficits and the Iran war. President Trump's latest pledge to pay US adults $5,000 apiece if the Republicans hold Congress in the midterms tells plenty about his attitude.
At 8:15 am ET, the ECB is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points to address inflation well above target with energy prices rising yet again. The big question is what the ECB will signal about the outlook, whether this is the first of a series of rate increases.