Stocks got the week off to a positive start, but the futures are suggesting some of those gains may be given up at the opening bell. In overnight trading, stocks in Asia were mostly up. Meanwhile, the European indexes are showing modest gains. Elsewhere, oil prices tumbled more than 6% on Monday, following word that Sunday’s Israeli strikes on Iranian energy facilities did not impact oil production. The futures are suggesting prices will regain some lost ground, with West Texas Intermediate crude up about 1.5%, to around $68.40 a barrel.
Earnings season is progressing at full speed, and the news from Corporate America has largely been favorable. A number of tech giants are on the slate this week, including Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG) and AMD (AMD) after today’s market close. Tomorrow we’ll hear from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), followed by Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) on Thursday.
On the economic news docket for this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is due out this morning. Wall Street is calling for a dip to 7.92 million openings, compared to 8.04 million in August. Wednesday brings pending home sales for September from the National Association of Realtors. The consensus suggests a month-over-month increase of 0.9%, up from the 0.6% growth clocked in August. On Thursday, we get initial jobless claims from the Department of Labor. Forecasts are pointing to an uptick to 231,000 new claims for unemployment benefits, up 4,000 from the week before.
On Friday, the Department of Commerce is due to release its Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for September. The Street is looking for more moderation, with prices rising 2.1% over the 12-month span, versus 2.2% the month before. However, the Core PCE (excluding food and energy) is expected to show a year-over-year increase of 0.3%, up from 0.1% in August.
We’ll also get the monthly jobs report on Friday. Analysts expect nonfarm payroll additions for October to come in around 111,000, which would mark a significant decline from the 223,000 jobs added the month before. The unemployment rate is anticipated to stay flat, at 4.1%. Lastly, we’ll also get the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) report on the manufacturing sector. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for October is pegged to come in at 47.5, up slightly from the 47.2 reading the month before. (Figures above 50 indicate expansion, while those below 50 denote contraction.) If that number is close to the mark, it would be the seventh-straight month of shrinkage for the index.
Summing up Monday’s moves, the Dow Jones Industrials gained 273 points, or 0.7%, the S&P was up 15 points (0.3%), and the NASDAQ composite advanced 48 points (0.3%). – Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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