U.S. stock futures climbed Monday morning, pointing to a rebound from Wall Street’s worst day since June: as of about 7:15 a.m. Eastern time, Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.7%, S&P 500 futures up 0.5% and Dow futures up 0.5%. Falling oil prices lent support, with crude down more than 4% overnight on hopes for a deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Tech tries to stand back up
The futures bounce follows a brutal finish to October. On Friday the Nasdaq composite fell 2.9% to 25,437, the S&P 500 lost 1.8% to 7,580 and the Dow gave up 1.1% to close at 51,770 – the market’s worst session since June, capping a week in which Amazon, Intel and Alphabet showed investors the cash cost of the artificial intelligence buildout. The Nasdaq fell 5.2% in October, and the Nasdaq 100 briefly crossed into correction territory, while the S&P 500 and Dow still finished the month higher. Intel, which closed down 28.6% on Friday, slipped about 1% further in early premarket trading, while Amazon edged up 0.6% after recovering most of its Friday loss. Apple reports results after today’s closing bell – the last of the mega-cap AI checkpoints in a week that also brings Palantir and AMD.
Oil plunges on Iran talks
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell $4.89, or 4.3%, to $108.54 a barrel as of about 7:15 a.m., and U.S. crude dropped below $100, after Iranian negotiators held talks with Qatari mediators on ending the war. A draft proposal is circulating and a follow-up meeting is possible, an official briefed on the talks said. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said Sunday the “ongoing and progressing” talks leave Tehran prepared for “both defence and diplomacy.” The drop unwinds part of a run that carried Brent to a six-month high at the end of October; the head of Abu Dhabi’s state oil company said the world has drained nearly 1 billion barrels from inventories since the war disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in late February.
A packed week: elections, jobs, the Fed’s math
Three forces set this week’s agenda. Tuesday’s midterm elections land with the economy as the top voter issue and control of Congress in play. Friday brings the October jobs report, the first full read on hiring since the Federal Reserve held rates steady and signaled increases could come as soon as December; job-openings data arrives Tuesday. And today at 10 a.m., the manufacturing sector’s activity and prices-paid readings will test whether oil’s surge fed through to factory costs. The 10-year Treasury yield settled Friday at 4.93%, and gold edged up to $3,912 an ounce overnight. Bitcoin traded near $78,000, steadying after last week’s record $6.3 billion Binance hack.
Overnight around the world
Asia split along familiar lines: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell for a second straight session as tech stayed under pressure, while Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets rose on talk of fresh policy support. Europe opened cautiously mixed, with London’s FTSE 100 up about 0.2% and falling oil lifting fuel-sensitive sectors.
What it means for you
The overnight news lands closest to home at the gas pump. Oil’s 4% drop unwinds part of a four-month climb that pushed fuel costs steadily higher – though Brent at $108 is still up sharply this year, and the price has swung with every turn in the talks. For borrowers, the 10-year Treasury yield that mortgage and auto-loan rates follow settled Friday at 4.93%. For anyone watching their job or their 401(k), Friday’s jobs report is the next official read on hiring, and today’s Apple results are the next test for the tech shares that dominate many retirement accounts.
What to watch today
At 10 a.m.: the manufacturing activity and prices-paid survey. After the bell: Apple’s results and its AI spending plans, the number most likely to set Tuesday’s tone. Through the day: any word from the Iran talks – a draft deal moving forward or falling apart moves oil, and with it the whole market. And the final day of midterm campaigning, with results starting tomorrow night.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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