Market Insights

After positive comments on the economy yesterday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will have a second day of testimony in Washington starting at 10am ET as he sits with the House Financial Services Committee.

In an unexpected downturn, housing starts as well as permits both fell sharply to their lowest rates since September last year.

• Housing starts dropped 12.3 percent to a 1.173 million annualized rate in June with permits down 2.2 percent to 1.273 million, surprising most analysts.

At 10:30 a.m., the Crude Inventory Report is published, which under-pressure oil investors will watch closely and later today the Fed releases the Beige Book.

Overnight Market Notes:

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was mostly unchanged
• Japan’s Topix index closed 0.4 percent higher after Chairman Powell’s remarks on the U.S. economy calmed concerns on the global growth outlook.
• In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.5 percent higher at 5:40 a.m. with most industry sectors gaining.
• S&P 500 futures pointed to a slightly higher open,

Notable earnings today include Morgan Stanley, American Express Co., International Business Machines Corp., and eBay Inc. are all due to report.