What you need to know before the US open
Last week was rounded off with a late selloff on US markets, following the latest, and disappointing, jobs report.
Fed chair Janet Yellen has been trying to persuade investors that the central bank intends to keep interest rates low, taking into account a jobs market that’s “not back to normal health”.
Be that as it may, markets are expected lower today, extending the losses seen Friday. That puts the S&P in line for a third loss in a row.
European stocks are in the red, and Asian markets closed lower.
Tech-based companies are spearheading the move lower, with Facebook losing 1.3 per cent and Netflic and TripAdvisor also moving lower.
Corporate data
Mallinckrodt, the specialist pharmaceuticals firm, has agreed to buy US rival Questcor Pharmeceuticals for $5.6bn.
MannKind, another biopharmaceutical company, shed over 10 per cent in pre-market trading, after it announced an extended review by the US Food and Drug Administration into its inhaled insulin treatment.
The $50bn cement merger announced earlier today – Swiss company Holcim’s taking over French Lafarge – has been cheered by investors and analysts alike, with shares jumping on the news, despite concerns of an ever-narrowing, in terms of number of firms, industry.
In Asia
Meanwhile, Australia and Japan have agreed a farming-based bilateral trade deal that ends seven years of negotiation and is intended to boost both countries’ GDPs.
Data in focus
• 8.00pm: US Feb consumer credit change