THURSDAY – U.S. stock index futures rose Thursday after a draft Brexit deal was struck between the European Union and the U.K.
Around 7:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 82 points, indicating a gain of about 70 points at the open. Prior to the Brexit reports, futures had been trading flat to lower. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were also higher.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “we have a great new Brexit deal” via Twitter. He called on British lawmakers to back the deal when it’s put before Parliament on Saturday. Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tweeted that the deal was a “fair and balanced” one.
Nonetheless, markets rallied on the Brexit reports, as the deal removed some investor uncertainty amid heightened concerns about the health of the global economy. On Wednesday, unexpectedly weak U.S. retail sales data fueled fears about a possible recession.
Global economic data points to slower growth, while the U.S. manufacturing sector is already contracting. Among the greatest of the worries plaguing markets is the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
The latest weekly jobless claims figures, housing starts and building permits for September, and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Industrial production data for September will follow slightly later in the session.
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Category Archives: Economy
Stocks Rise Slightly After Jobs Data
FRIDAY – U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, erasing an earlier decline after the release of the latest U.S. jobs report.
The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 145,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, a 50-year low, but wages grew at a slower-than-expected pace last month.
Treasury yields briefly jumped before giving back those gains. The 10-year yield last traded at 1.53% after hitting 1.55%.
Wall Street will be watching speeches by Fed officials later in the day, including Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren.
Stocks came into Friday’s session on pace to record large losses for the week. The Dow was down 2.3% through Thursday’s close while the S&P 500 had lost 1.7%. The Nasdaq was down 0.9% week to date.
Those weekly losses came after a dismal U.S. manufacturing data report sparked fears of a potential recession in the U.S. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Dow lost more than 800 points.
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Stocks Higher As Wall Street Watched Trade Negotiations
U.S. stock index futures were higher on Monday, the last day of September, as investors watched trade developments between the U.S. and China.
Around 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 54.75 points at the open. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded higher.
Wall Street ended lower last week on reports that the White House is considering limiting U.S. investment into China, including a possible de-listing of Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges, in a further escalation of the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. However, spokespeople had denied that the U.S. was considering such a move.
U.S. and China trade delegations are due to meet on Oct. 10 as both sides try to move closer to a deal. Both countries have slapped tariffs on billion of dollars worth of their goods, dampening expectations for economic and corporate profit growth.
The major indexes were headed for a mixed monthly performance. The Nasdaq Composite was down slightly for September entering Monday’s session while the S&P 500 and Dow were up more than 1%.
On the data front, Chicago PMI figures for September are due at 8:45 a.m. ET and Dallas Fed manufacturing index data will be published at 9:30 a.m. ET.
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Stocks Inch Higher To End Week
| FRIDAY – U.S. stock index futures indicated a higher open on Friday with Washington and Beijing set to resume key trade talks mid-October. Any positive moves on Friday, however, would offset modest weekly losses for the major stock indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were all on track to finish the week lower before the bell Friday morning after snapping a three-week winning streak last week. The optimism among traders Friday morning came with trade talks between the U.S. and China set to resume Oct. 10-11 in Washington, D.C., three people familiar with the discussions said. News of a scheduled meeting adds to the growing belief on Wall Street that the trade war between the two economic superpowers has eased in recent weeks. U.S. consumer spending slowed more than expected in August, according to a government report released Friday. Personal consumption expenditures, also known as household spending, edged up an adjusted 0.1% in August from July, when spending rose 0.5%. The print represents consumer spending’s softest read since February and could suggest to policymakers that a critical driver of U.S. GDP growth could be set for deceleration. Consumer spending accounts for more than 66% of total economic output in the United States. The Best Penny Stocks |
Stocks Slip While Awaiting Fed Decision
Stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday as a key decision from the Federal Reserve is expected this afternoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just a fraction of a percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both slipped about a third of one percent.
The Fed is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points. This would be the bank’s second rate cut in a decade, after the central bank decided to lower the Fed Funds Rate to a range of 2.0%-2.25% in July. Chairman Jerome Powell will address the media on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Treasury yields fell ahead of the Fed’s announcement. The benchmark 10-year rate dipped to 1.77% from around 1.8%. The 2-year yield traded at 1.7%.
The Fed meeting takes place a couple of days after President Donald Trump called the central bank “boneheads” and asked for zero or even negative rates. The meeting also takes place as China and the U.S. try to reach a deal to end their ongoing trade war.
Trump said on Wednesday that a deal could come soon. China and the U.S. are expected to meet next month. The trade war has dampened the outlook for global economic growth and corporate profit expansion.
Threat Of Mexican Tariffs Spook Stocks
FRIDAY – Stock index futures tanked on Friday morning, as investors feared President Donald Trump’s surprise threat of tariffs on all Mexico imports, amid a worsening trade war with China, could risk sending the U.S. economy into a recession.
Around 8:25 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a drop of 270 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped by more than 1% each. The S&P 500 was already down 5.3% this month through Thursday after trade talks fell apart with China and rhetoric on both sides worsened in May.
The closely watched 10-year Treasury yield dropped to lows not seen since 2017. The U.S. benchmark was yielding 2.17% Friday morning. It was above 2.5% at the beginning of the month. Mexico’s currency, the peso, tanked against the dollar by more than 2% to trade at 19.6 per dollar.
On Thursday evening, Trump announced the U.S. would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from June 10 until illegal immigration across the southern border was stopped.
The trade war appears to be dragging down the Chinese economy. The country’s manufacturing activity contracted more than expected in the month of May, China government data out overnight showed. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for May was 49.4, down from April’s reading of 50.1. PMI readings below 50 signal contraction.
Trade Tensions Spook Stocks
MONDAY – A sharp sell-off will start the week on Wall Street after President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. will hike tariffs on goods imported from China, casting doubt on recent optimism that the world’s two largest economies were close to a resolution to their trade battle.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 457 points as of 8:32 a.m. ET which implied an opening decline of about 440 points. S&P 500 futures lost 1.5% and Nasdaq-100 Index futures dropped 1.9%.
China’s stock markets, meanwhile, fell sharply. The Shanghai Composite dropped 5.6% while the Shenzhen A Shares index plunged more than 7%.
Trump said in a tweet Sunday afternoon that the current 10% levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods will rise to 25% on Friday. He also threatened to impose 25% tariffs on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods “shortly.”
The S&P 500, up 17.5% in 2019 alone, notched a record close on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which has soared more than 20% this year, clinched a record close on Friday. The S&P 500 is set to drop 1.5% on Monday, which would be its biggest one-day decline since March 22, when it dropped 1.9%.
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Mood turns cautious ahead of earnings season
MONDAY – U.S. stocks were lower Monday, with the market perhaps worried about what is likely to be a tougher earnings season.
At around 8:35 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a negative open of more than 100 points. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were both marginally lower.
Market focus is largely attuned to corporate results, with major U.S. banks set to get the ball rolling later in the week.
Analysts have warned that the upcoming earnings season could be the first quarter of contracting corporate results since 2016.
J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are both set to report their latest figures on Friday.
Before that, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting are due to be released on Wednesday.
Following the Fed’s most recent meeting in March, the central bank decided to maintain interest rates and hold off on any further increases this year.
On the data front, factory orders for February will be published at around 10 a.m. ET.
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Stocks Rise For Second Week
SUNDAY – Stocks posted their second weekly rise on Friday as stocks were boosted by better-than-expected jobs data and progress on the U.S.-China trade front.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose about 2% this week, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7%. On Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed up by 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
Materials and financials were the best-performing sectors this week, rising 4.3% and 3.3%, respectively. Bank shares led the gains in financials. Morgan Stanley rose more than 6% this week, while Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup all ended the week up more than 5%.
The U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected 175,000. The U.S. unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained at 3.8%. However, wage growth expanded 3.2% just below an expected gain of 3.4%.
Wall Street was looking forward to this report after the previous jobs data showed growth of just 20,000. That number was revised higher to 33,000 on Friday.
Friday’s strong jobs report comes after the release of disappointing economic data earlier in the week. Activity in the U.S. services sector fell to its lowest level since August 2017 while payrolls data released on Wednesday was also below expectations.
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Stocks Start Lower On Economic Concerns
THURSDAY – U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday morning as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest announcement on monetary policy as well as a sharp drop in Biogen shares.
At 7:48 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a decline of 136 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also fell.
The Dow closed lower on Wednesday after the Fed announced a more dovish policy. Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chair, said the central bank is forecasting no rate hikes in 2019, which is down from two hikes forecast earlier. U.S. Treasury yields fell on the news, which added pressure on certain stocks, including banks.
Rising rates are good for banks since they are able to lend out money to investors at a profitable rate of interest. Lower interest rates restrict the bank’s ability to make profits thus adding pressure on margins.
The central bank also lowered its growth outlook for the year and indicated it would end its balance-sheet reduction process by the end of September.
U.S.-China trade is also in focus for investors after mixed comments from the White House. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington’s tariffs on Beijing could stay on for a “substantial period of time.”