Even Wal Mart’s strong quarter is struggling to prop up the market thanks to news out of the EU. The continual soap opera from Europe now has possible bank runs spreading to Spain after already hitting Greece. Moody’s has already threatened to downgrade a host of Spanish banks in the coming days. This will only add to the pressure the EU is facing. Dow futures are currently down 10 points. Nasdaq and S&P futures are both slightly negative, down 5 and 2 points respectively.

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Jobless claims remained unchanged from last week. After being revised higher from 367k, this week’s print is at 370k. The four week average fell to 375k. Analysts had been expecting a drop to 365k.

In Europe, markets are down across the board as contagion fears ramp up. Many analysts say that the EU has to move decisively to shore up confidence in both Spain and Italy. Greece still remains without a functioning national government as it hurtles towards another election sometime in June. The anti-bailout leftist parties are picking up steam in the polls, so the crisis could become even more heated in the coming weeks.

Commodities remained mixed with oil futures drifting lower, while gold prices rebounded higher. [Read more...]