drew barrymore
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Good morning, and happy PMI Day. We're about to kick off the Superbowl of Economic Data. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were mostly higher in overnight trading, with the Japanese Nikkei up 0.5 percent and the Shanghai Composite up 1.4 percent. U.S. futures are surging.

  • The monthly U.S. jobs report is out, and the numbers are mixed. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 157k, which was less than the 165k forecasted by economists. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent. However, the November and December nonfarm payrolls were revised up substantially.

  • The fourth-largest bank in Netherlands, SNS Reaal, was nationalized after heavy deposit outflows rendered the bank insolvent. The state will inject €3.7 billion ($5.02 billion) in the bank along with €6.1 billion in loans and guarantees.

  • China's official PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.4 in January, but the China HSBC PMI jumped to 52.3, a two-year high.

  • Australia PMI fell to 40.2 January, down from 44.3 in December. Contraction in new orders and production led the drop, and survey respondents cited soft demand, weak confidence, and the strong Australian dollar.


  • Eurozone PMI rose to 47.9 from 46.1 the month before, indicating that the pace of economic contraction moderated a bit in January. Within the eurozone, Spanish PMI rose to 46.1, Italian PMI rose to 47.8, and German PMI rose to 49.8. However, French PMI dropped to 42.9 from 44.6 last month.

  • The world's biggest auto makers report monthly sales figures today. Total vehicle sales are expected to hit 15.2 million at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in January, down slightly from 15.3 million in December. Domestic vehicle sales are expected to total 11.9 million SAAR, down slightly from 11.97 million last month. The auto makers report individually throughout the day, and we will have all of them here LIVE.

  • Markit U.S. PMI is out at 8:58 AM ET. Economists expect the index to moderate slightly to 55.5 after the flash reading came in at 56.1 earlier this month. Last month, the index registered at 54.0. 

  • At 10 AM, U.S. ISM Manufacturing is released. The index is expected to rise to 50.6 from last month's 50.2 reading, indicating a slight acceleration in the pace of American manufacturing growth.

  • Construction spending data for the month of December are also out at 10 AM. Economists estimate construction spending grew 0.6 percent in December after contracting 0.3 percent in December.