After posting their best week so far in 2023, stocks extended their winning streak by edging higher on Monday. However, the futures are suggesting the major indexes may give back some of those gains at the open. In overnight trading, markets in Asia closed in the red, and the major European exchanges are mostly showing small losses. Meanwhile, oil prices have moved lower, with West Texas Intermediate down about 2.0%, to around $79.25 a barrel.
Third-quarter earnings season is fast approaching the final stretch, and so far results have largely topped Wall Street’s expectations. Among the more closely watched companies reporting this week are eBay (EBAY) and Gilead (GILD) after today’s close, followed by The Walt Disney Company (DIS) on Wednesday, and AstraZeneca (AZN) on Thursday.
On the economic news front, the docket is fairly light this week. The Federal Reserve will release its report on Consumer Credit for the month of September later today. Consensus is calling for the reading (which measures the change in total value of outstanding consumer installment credit) to show an increase of about $10 billion, versus an unexpected drop of $15.6 billion the month before. The numbers are being more closely watched than usual, amid concerns that inflationary pressures are forcing consumers to increasingly rely on credit, suggesting an economic slowdown ahead.
This would be welcome news for the Federal Reserve, which, at the end of its meeting last week, announced that it was keeping the benchmark overnight lending target rate unchanged for a second-consecutive time. Yesterday’s comments by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, stating that the central bank still has more work ahead, appear to have put a damper on investor sentiment. However, market prognosticators continue to lean toward the Fed keeping rates untouched at its next two meetings in mid-December and late January.
While on the topic of borrowing costs, the Mortgage Bankers Association is due to release its report on Mortgage Applications tomorrow morning. With 30-year rates at multi-decade highs, expectations are calling for the number of buyers applying to continue to soften.
Summing up Monday’s market moves, the Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 34 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 was ahead by seven points (0.2%), and the tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 40 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.
CLICK HERE for more information on our services or call 1-800-VALUELINE (1-800-825-8354). Our account managers are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern Time.
