Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen last week.

The markets may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped lift the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record highs.

A largely positive reaction to the latest earnings news has contributed to the recent strength on Wall Street, as most big-name companies have reported better than expected quarterly results.

Earnings news will continue to pick up steam this week, with a slew of well-known companies scheduled to report their quarterly results.

Facebook (FB), General Electric (GE), UPS (UPS), Alphabet (GOOGL), Coca-Cola (KO), General Motors (GM), McDonald’s (MCD), Ford (F), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (APPL), and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are just a few of the companies due to report their results this week.

Trading activity may be somewhat subdued on Monday, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep some traders on the sidelines.

Some traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.

The Fed is likely to leave interest rates unchanged but could announce plans to begin scaling back its asset purchase program.

Following the upward trend seen over the past several sessions, stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq moved to the downside, the Dow reached a new record closing high.

The Dow fluctuated over the course of the session but ended the day up 73.94 points or 0.2 percent at 35,677.02. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq slid 125.50 points or 0.8 percent to 15,090.20 and the S&P 500 edged down 4.88 points or 0.1 percent to 4,544.90 after ending Thursday’s trading at a record closing high.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved notably higher for the week. The S&P 500 surged up by 1.6 percent, while the Nasdaq and the Dow jumped by 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders reacted to mixed earnings news from several big-name companies.

A steep drop by Intel (INTC) weighed on the Nasdaq, with the semiconductor giant plunging by 11.7 percent after ending the previous session at its best closing level in three months.

Intel came under pressure after reporting quarter earnings that beat estimates but weaker than expected sales. The company also warned of lower profit margins over the next few years.

Snapchat parent Snap (SNAP) also saw substantial weakness after reporting mixed third quarter results and warning changes to Apple’s iOS privacy rules will lead to slower growth.

On the other hand, a rally by shares of American Express (AXP) contributed to the uptick by the Dow, with the financial services giant jumping by 5.5 percent after reporting third quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.

Snap led a sell-off in the internet sector, resulting in a 3.2 percent nosedive by the Dow Jones U.S. Internet Index.

Substantial weakness was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Semiconductor stocks also saw significant weakness amid the steep drop by Intel, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling by 1.2 percent.

On the other hand, banking stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving the KBW Bank Index up by 1.5 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are surging $1.21 to $84.97 a barrel after jumping $1.26 to $83.76 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $14.40 to $1,796.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $8.10 to $1,804.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 113.76 yen versus the 113.50 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1593 compared to last Friday’s $1.1643.

Asia

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a virtual conference that the present high price pressure may not subside soon and that the central bank was on track to start tapering its stimulus.

Chinese shares rose after China Evergrande said it had resumed work on more than 10 real estate projects in six cities including Shenzhen and added it plans to prioritize growth of its nascent electric vehicles business over its troubled core real estate operations.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 27.26 points, or 0.8 percent, to finish at 3,609.86. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended on a flat note amid news of trials of a property tax in China.

Japanese shares fell as the yen strengthened and investors awaited cues from the looming general elections. The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 204.44 points, or 0.7 percent, to 28,600.41, while the broader Topix closed 0.3 percent lower at 1,995.42.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group tumbled 3.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing gave up 3.8 percent.

New Zealand markets were closed for Labor Day. Australian markets eked out modest gains as strong commodity prices helped limit mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 25.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,441, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 27.50 points, or 0.4 percent, at 7,754.30.

BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto rose between 0.7 percent and 1.5 percent, tracking a rebound in iron ore futures.

Mineral Resources shares soared 9 percent after announcing plans to restart production at its Wodiga lithium mine in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

Energy stocks rebounded after four straight days of losses as oil prices hit multi-year highs amid tight supply and solid fuel demand in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Beach Energy jumped 4-5 percent. Origin Energy rallied 3.9 percent after it agreed to sell its 10 percent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project for A$2.12 billion to investor EIG Partners.Telco Telstra gained over 2 percent after it agreed to buy Digicel Pacific.

Seoul stocks snapped a three-day losing streak amid expectations that third-quarter corporate earnings would be better than expected.

The Kospi rose 14.38 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 3,020.54. POSCO rallied 3.1 percent and Hana Financial Group advanced 2.5 percent after reporting consensus-beating earnings.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Monday despite an easing of worries surrounding embattled property group China Evergrande.

As ECB policymakers meet Thursday in Frankfurt, traders await hints on when the central bank might start raising historically low interest rates or tweak the pace of bond buying under its massive pandemic-era stimulus program.

Traders also await a string of major corporate results this week for clues to the near-term market outlook.

While the French CAC 40 Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

UniCredit has fallen as talks between the bank and Italy’s Treasury over the purchase of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA ended without a deal.

Exor, the Italian holding company of the Agnelli family, has jumped, on reports the Agnelli family-owned investment and holding company is back at the negotiating table with French insurance group Covéa over the possible sale of reinsurance firm PartnerRe.

TSB owner Banco Sabadell has rallied after it confirmed it had rejected a bid approach from the Co-op for the British banking chain.

British lender HSBC Holdings has also moved to the upside after reporting a surprise 74 percent jump in third-quarter profit.

Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore have risen as copper prices advanced after reports that inventories in Shanghai exchange warehouses dropped to a more than 12-year low.

Oil & gas firm BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell have also moved higher as oil prices extend gains to multi-week highs amid continuing expectations of supply tightening.

Sanofi are higher in Paris. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the French drug maker announced today positive results from the second Dupixent (dupilumab) Phase 3 Eosinophilic Esophagitis trial that showed significant disease improvements. Data from the clinical trial program will be submitted to regulatory authorities by 2022.

zooplus AG shares have risen. The German online pet platform today said it supports the increased and final takeover offer of Hellman & Friedman along with its partner EQT Private Equity at a cash consideration of 480 euros per zooplus share.

The revised offer represents an increase of 10 euros compared to the previous bids by H&F and EQT.

U.S. Economic Reports

No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the electric car maker raised prices on certain versions of its Model X and Model S cars and car rental giant Hertz reportedly ordered 100,000 Tesla vehicles for its fleet.

Restaurant operator Restaurant Brands International (QSR) may also moved to the upside after reporting third quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Shares of PayPal (PYPL) are also seeing pre-market strength after the financial technology company said it is not pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest (PINS). On the other hand, Pinterest is moving sharply lower on the news.

Consumer products company Kimberly-Clark (KMB) may also move to the downside after reporting weaker than expected third quarter earnings.