U.S. stock futures were higher Monday after China’s central bank cut the amount of money that banks are required to hold in reserves.
The reserve requirement fell by 100 basis points, giving momentum to a struggling market that was clobbered to the tune of -1.7% on Friday, wiping out all year-to-date gains for the 30 largest companies represented by the Dow Jones index.
Morgan Stanley, IBM reported earnings this morning that were largely in line with expectations. Much of the concern iover earnings season has shifted, as the stronger dollar has been impacting revenues more so than the earnings themselves.
It’s a light week on the data side, with housing market indicators widely believed to be the highlight. Greece, however, remains a big concern in the Euro zone. European Central Bank president Mario Draghi believes that default is growing as a possibility, while other officials told CNBC they are worried about a ‘contagion’ effect, should the Greeks exit the Euro.
Here are the final numbers from Wall Street on Monday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,034.93 (+208.63)
NASDAQ: 4,994.60 (+62.79)
S&P 500: 2,100.40 (+19.22)
