Opening Comment — Wednesday, December 04, 2024
DJIA: 44,705.53, down 76.47
S&P 500: 6,049.88, up 2.73
NASDAQ: 19,480.91, up 76.96
Stocks higher ahead of comments from Powell
Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning ahead of today’s comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell. Investors will also be looking at services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data for November and the Fed’s Beige Book. As of 7:18 AM ET, the Dow is rising 0.5%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.6% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were mixed on Tuesday as the October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed a greater-than-expected increase in job openings. The Dow was down 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 increased 0.1% with three of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Communication Services sector was the top performer, rising 1.1%, while the Utilities sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.9%.
On the data front, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s gauge of mortgage applications rose 2.8% for the week ending November 29 versus the prior week’s increase of 6.3%. The Automatic Data Processing Employment Change Report for November is expected to show private nonfarm job gains of 150,000, versus the prior month’s 233,000. S&P Global’s finalized services and composite PMIs for November are expected to come in at 57.0 and 55.3, respectively, both unchanged from the prior reading. The Institute for Supply Management’s November services PMI and the prices paid component are expected to register 55.7 and 57.0, respectively, versus the prior month’s 56.0 and 58.1, respectively. October’s factory orders are expected to have increased 0.2% month-over-month versus the prior month’s decrease of 0.5%. The Department of Energy’s measure of crude oil inventories is expected to have decreased by 1.82 million barrels for the week ending November 29 versus the prior week’s decrease of 1.84 million barrels.
Across the pond, European stocks are mostly higher in mid-day trading as the finalized November composite and services PMIs for the eurozone came in higher than the preliminary readings, though remained in contractionary territory. The U.K.’s composite and services PMIs for November were both revised higher, crossing the threshold into expansionary territory. France will have a vote of no confidence for Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed following yesterday’s political turmoil in South Korea as martial law was briefly declared. Japan’s finalized November composite and services PMIs were both revised higher, with both now in expansionary territory. China’s private composite PMI for November rose from the prior month, while the services PMI ticked down. Australia’s third-quarter gross domestic product growth came in weaker than forecasted.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly higher ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments later today.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 0.3% higher at $70.13/barrel following an expected decline in crude oil inventories.
In the metals complex, gold is little changed at $2645.60/ounce.