Nasdaq futures decline as bank earnings deluge begins

BLOOMBERG

US equity future and bonds slumped as inflation once again took centre stage and traders mulled the likelihood of multiple interest rate hikes this year.
Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 fell following comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller who said he favoured more policy tightening in the central bank’s battle with inflation. Swaps traders are now starting to consider a second rate increase in June, in addition to a more widely expected one in May.
Treasury yields rose to session highs, with the rate-sensitive two-year segment topping 4% after a measure of March retail sales showed core readings declined less than estimate. Meanwhile, a Bloomberg gauge of the dollar steadied after dropping to the lowest since February. In US premarket trading,  JPMorgan Chase & Co and Well Fargo jumped as the banks kicked off a busy earnings season. Assurances about the sector’s health is driving other financial stocks higher before the bell.
The start of earnings may get more scrutiny than usual with big banks’ first-quarter reports given the failure in March of three smaller US lenders. “Investors will remain wary of any indication that the regional banking turmoil has translated into materially tighter lending standards throughout the system,” BMO strategists Ian Lyngen and Benjamin Jeffery wrote in a note.
A key focus will be the deposit drain, especially at Western Alliance Bancorp, Comerica Inc and East West Bancorp Inc, whose stocks were hard hit by the collapses. These will report earnings next week.
Shares in Boeing Co fell as much as 6 percent after the firm said it was pausing deliveries of some 737 Max jets to address a production issue on some aircraft.
In commodities, crude headed for a fourth week of gains amid signs of a tightening global market and a weaker dollar. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% in New York and the Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%.
While futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% and the MSCI World index rose 0.1%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% and the euro fell 0.2% to $1.1026. The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2474 and the Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 133.03 per dollar. Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $30,689.73 and ether rose 4.5% to $2,099.33.
While the yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 3.50%, Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.40% and Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.61%.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $82.37 a barrel and gold futures fell 0.9% to $2,037.30 an ounce.