When in doubt how to cause an algorithmic buying spree, go for the lower common denominator: issue bills, or have a confidence index beat expectations. We had Spanish Bills cause a 200 point DJIA melt up earlier in the week, which means today we get confidence, specifically that of Germany's Ifo Business Survey. While Germany's various PMI may still be declining, and the market going nowhere in a hurry, not to mention international trade especially involving China sliding, if there is one thing German manufacturers have in copious amount, it is confidence. In April, the Ifo index edged higher in April to a level of 109.9 after 109.8 in March, defying consensus expectations of a decline to 109.5, and climbing to the highest level since last July. The assessment of current conditions also increased slightly to 117.5 after 117.4 (close to two standard-deviations above the long-term average). Business expectations remained stable at 102.7 (0.6 standard deviations above historical average). And since algos only care about headlines on the margin this was enough to light a rocket under the EURUSD, however briefly and send it, and the US futures by implication, over 1.3200. Once again, even Goldman warns against reading much into these data: "The somewhat more muted signals coming from the PMI surveys caution against taking the Ifo at face value and there are not enough hard data available for Q1 that show which survey is the better guide at this point to the underlying momentum of the German economy." That's ok, A desperate for any good news Europe will take it.
Europe will also take soaring UK Retail sales, which paradoxically rose by 1.8% on expectations of a 0.5%, primarily due to the already documented government induced gas buying panic, and of course record warm weather. As Bloomberg explains: "U.K. retail sales rose at the fastest pace for more than a yr in March as the warmest March for half a century boosted purchases of clothing and gardening equipment, panic buying lifted auto-fuel demand."
These two events alone have set the mood for today's trading day, which has pushed futures to a level higher than before yesterday's material claims miss.