Strategy and Economics

Key Developments:

Today, North American data releases are the following:

In Canada:

The leading indicator’s report is expected to have increased by 0.60% MoM in February.

In the U.S.:

The MBA Mortgage Applications index was released at 7:00am ET. The index decreased by 7.40% for the week ending March 16.

Existing Home Sales will be released at 10:00am ET. The forecast is a 0.90% increase for February.

Bottom Line: We continue to get additional data on the state of the U.S. housing market; today’s Existing Home Sales report is expected to show an annualized gain of 4.61 million. Market participants will also focus on Chairman Bernanke’s and Treasury Secretary Geithner’s testimony on Europe’s debt crisis before the House Oversight Committee.