Wall Street Likely To Open On Weak Note

Lower futures amid rising tensions in the Middle East, and a lack of positive news from the home front points to a weak start for stocks on Wall Street Monday morning.

The Dow futures are down 0.4 percent, the S&P Futures are lower by 0.44 percent, and the Nasdaq futures are declining nearly 0.6 percent.

According to reports, Israeli defense forces intensified air strikes targeting Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut simultaneously on the first anniversary of Hamas’ cross-border attack in Israel, which triggered the Middle East war.

Dozens were killed in air strikes on a mosque and a now defunct school, which were converted as refugee relief shelters Sunday, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli military says Hamas militants were hiding there.

With crucial consumer price inflation data for the month of September due later in the week, the mood on Wall Street is likely to remain largely cautions, and activity is expected to be stock specific with investors tracking corporate news if any.

U.S. stocks closed notably higher on Friday as investors cheered upbeat non-farm payroll data. The Dow settled at a fresh record high at 42,352.75, gaining 341.16 points or 0.81 percent, the S&P 500 closed up 51.13 points or 0.9 percent at 5,751.07, and the Nasdaq climbed 219.37 points or 1.22 percent to settle at 18,137.85.

Asian stocks rallied on Monday and the dollar hit a fresh seven-week peak on the yen after robust U.S. jobs data signaled economic resilience but prompted trades to pare bets on aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

After Friday’s blowout payrolls report, traders now price in only a quarter-point cut in interest rates at the Federal Reserve’s next policy announcement on Nov. 7, with a small chance that the policy rate stays unchanged.

European stocks are finding modest support. Among the major markets, the U.K. and Germany are up in positive territory, while France is trading weak.

In commodities, West Texas International Crude oil futures are up $1.42 or nearly 1.91 percent at 75.80 a barrel. Gold futures are gaining $8.80 or 0.33% at $2,676.70 an ounce.

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