Opening Comment — Monday, October 14, 2024
DJIA: 42,863.86, up 409.74
S&P 500: 5,815.03, up 34.98
NASDAQ: 18,342.94, up 60.89
Stocks mixed to start off week
Stock futures are mixed Monday morning as investors are looking forward to the latest earnings releases and fresh Federal Reserve (Fed) commentary, along with this week’s economic data which includes retail sales, industrial production, and updates on the housing market with home builder sentiment, building permits, and housing starts. As of 7:18 AM ET, the Dow is decreasing 0.2%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 is increasing 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were higher on Friday with the S&P 500 closing above 5800 for the first time as earnings season kicked off. The headline Producer Price Index did not change month-over-month, while the core measure increased less than forecasted. However, the annual changes did come in above projections at 1.8% and 2.8%, respectively, following upward revisions to the prior month’s data. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment reading unexpectedly decreased, while consumer expectations for short-term inflation rose. The Dow was up 1.0%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%. The S&P 500 increased 0.6% with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory. The Financials sector was the top performer, rising 2.0%, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the bottom performer, falling 0.4%.
Across the pond, European stocks are mixed ahead of this Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mostly higher as China’s trade surplus narrowed, with both exports and imports coming in weaker than expectations. Chinese data out Saturday showed producer price deflation accelerating, while consumer price growth was lower than expectations.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is higher ahead of this week’s key economic data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 2.4% lower at $73.76/barrel following concerns over China’s demand after the country’s inflation and trade data came in below expectations.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% lower at $2655.30/ounce following a strengthening dollar.