US markets set for strong open following yesterd

U.S. markets are trading higher today following a flood of economic reports yesterday. Perhaps the most important yesterday was the April CPI report, which showed that consumer prices were down 0.4% during the month. The lower CPI means that the Federal Reserve has less reason to worry about inflation and that it will most likely continue its easing program, which is good for the markets. In pre-market trading, all of the major indices are moving higher, each up over 0.2% headed into the opening bell. International markets were mostly in green territory overnight. It was a slow trading day for most Asian bourses with Hong Kong and Seoul being closed for holidays. Japanese stocks started off trading lower, continuing the previous days selling, but turned around in afternoon trading to end the day in the green. The Japanese Nikkei 225 gained 0.7%, while the Shanghai SEC rose 1.4% on the session. Australia and India were also higher, while Taiwan traded down 0.3%. European markets were also higher for the most part. The U.K. market traded higher, riding on the strength of the banking sector, which was particularly strong following a broker upgrade. UBS lifted its rating on the European banking sector to neutral, pushing the major financials higher. The French CAC 40 is up 0.3%, the Euronext 100 is up 0.2% while the Swiss Market Index has traded down 0.3%. The German DAX is trading flat on the day. The FTSE 100 is up 0.3% at this point. In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 0.3% to $95.78. Heating oil, gasoline and natural gas are all trading higher as well. In metals, gold is down 0.5% an ounce to $1,378.30, and copper is up 1.2% to $3.33. The US Dollar is slightly higher against the Euro and Yen. Bitcoins are moving a little higher, to $118.77. In pre-market trading, Sina Corp (SINA), Nokia (NOK), BHP Billiton (BHP), Anheuser-Busch (BUD) and ArcelorMittal (MT) are headed higher, while 3D Systems (DDD), Gold Fields (GFI), and J.C. Penney (JCP) are moving lower.