As we near the start of a new trading session, U.S. stock futures are hovering around the unchanged mark. Markets in Asia were mostly down in overnight trading, and the European indexes are slightly in the red today. Meanwhile, oil futures have reversed course and moved lower, with West Texas Intermediate down about 1.3%, to around $75.90 a barrel.
Stocks began yet another week on the down side Monday, as investors reacted negatively to favorable economic news. Specifically, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index for November came in stronger than expected. The consensus was calling for a reading of about 53.5, but the actual figure clocked in at 56.5. (Numbers above 50 denote expansion, while those below 50 indicate contraction.) Moreover, the index was up from October’s level of 54.4, suggesting an acceleration of activity for the service economy. Additionally, the Commerce Department reported that orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased 1% for October, slightly above expectations.
These reports indicate that the U.S. economy remains resilient, despite high inflation and rising borrowing costs. Federal Reserve officials had signaled that increases to the overnight lending target rate would ease, to 0.5% at the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week, but the solid economic data may yet prompt the central bank to implement another hike of three-quarters of a percent at its meeting next week.
Generally speaking, rising interest rates tend to drag down stock prices, particularly as they make fixed income investments comparatively more attractive. Thus, it was no real surprise that the week got off to a negative start. By the numbers, the Dow Jones Industrials slid 482 points, or 1.4%, the S&P 500 was down 72 points (-1.8%), while the tech-heavy NASDAQ fared the worst of the lot, losing 221 points, or 1.9%.
The economic calendar for the rest of this week doesn’t include any releases that are likely to have much influence on stock prices. Traders get another update on the Fed’s battle with inflation when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the November Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Tuesday, next week. This closely watched reading, which measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services, was up 0.4% in October, marking a 7.7% increase over the 12-month period. But, as mentioned, the markets will be more interested in what the Fed has to say when it announces its next move at the end of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which wraps up on Wednesday.
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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