Ahead of today’s opening bell stock futures were pointing to a sharply lower start for the major indexes, reflecting increased tensions between Ukraine and Russia. In overnight trading, markets in Asia posted modest gains. However, the European indexes were moving in the opposite direction.
While earnings season is largely over, investors are still awaiting word from a key player in the artificial intelligence revolution. That is, chipmaker NVIDIA (NVDA), which is due to release its third-quarter financials on Wednesday. The company remains heavily scrutinized, particularly as its market cap more than tripled over the past 12 months, to its current level of around $3.5 trillion, making it the world’s most-valuable company. While Wall Street is looking for the company’s fundamentals to continue to improve, the stock is prone to wide price swings depending on market sentiment, particularly as its valuation appears stretched.
In the meantime, investors have a number of economic reports to pore over this week, especially on the housing front. This morning, the Census Bureau released its figures for housing starts in October. The total came in at 1.311 million, versus the consensus figure of 1.34 million and September’s revised figure of 1.353 million (previously 1.354 million). Meanwhile, building permits (which represent a more forward-looking indicator), came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.416 million, falling a little short of the Street’s call for 1.44 million and the 1.425 million recorded in September. Thursday will then bring the National Association of Realtor’s tally for existing home sales last month. Analysts are also calling for a modest gain there, to 3.94 million, versus 3.84 million reported in September.
Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor will release initial jobless claims for last week. Forecasts are suggesting the number increased to 220,000, versus 217,000 the week before. That same day, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank will publish its Manufacturing Index for November, which is widely expected to dip to 6.3, compared to 10.3 in October. (Readings above zero denote improving conditions in the region, while numbers below zero denote worsening prospects.)
Summing up Monday’s moves for the major stock indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials fell 55 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P advanced 23 points (0.4%), and the NASDAQ composite led the pack with a 111-point gain (0.6%). – 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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