MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Futures Drift Higher As China Trade, Corporate Earnings Buoy Sentiment
October 21 2019 - 7:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch
Shares of Halliburton slip 0.4% in premarket action Monday
U.S. stock futures edged slightly higher Monday morning to start
the last full week of trade in October as optimism over tariff
talks and between Washington and Beijing persists. Over the
weekend, China negotiator Vice Premier Liu He described the
so-called "phase one" Sino-American negotiations as having made
"substantial progress," laying the groundwork for the first leg of
a trade pact.
On top of that, third-quarter corporate results have mostly come
in better-than-feared.
How are major indexes performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 24 points,
or 0.1%, at 26,778, those for the S&P 500 were up 5.80 points,
or 0.2%, at 2,994, while Nasdaq-100 futures were gaining 19.25
points, or 0.2%, at 7,900.
Last week, the Dow declined 0.2%, falling for four of the past
five weeks, the S&P 500 index rose 0.5%, notching two
consecutive weekly gains, while the Nasdaq Composite Index produced
a weekly advance of 0.4% and has gained for three consecutive
weeks.
The Dow stands 2.2% from its July 15 record finish, the S&P
500 is off 1.3% from its all-time closing high set on July 26,
while the Nasdaq is off 2.9% from its July 26 record close, as of
Friday's finish.
What's driving the market?
China's Vice Premier Liu He said Washington and Beijing have
laid the groundwork for success in the first phase of its attempt
to carve out a resolution to its trade disagreement. "China and the
U.S. have made substantial progress in many aspects, and laid an
important foundation for a phase one agreement," said the top trade
negotiator at a technology conference in Nanchang, Jiangxi, on
Saturday, Bloomberg News reported (paywall)
(https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-19/china-s-liu-confirms-phase-one-of-u-s-trade-deal-is-in-progress?cmpid=BBD102119_MKT&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=191021&utm_campaign=markets).
Meanwhile, U.K. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced
to ask the European Union for a three-month extension to the Oct.
31 deadline to exit from the trade bloc, representing the latest
setback for the British leader and the country's yearslong attempt
to forge an orderly separation.
Read:What a Brexit deal would mean for U.S. stocks and global
investors
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-a-brexit-deal-would-mean-for-us-stocks-and-global-investors-2019-10-17)
Markets have been focused on the threat of Britain crashing out
of the EU without a trade agreement, which some fear could disrupt
global markets.
In corporate earnings, of the roughly two dozen S&P 500
companies that have reported third-quarter results, 83.6% have
produced results that are above analysts' expectations, according
to Refinitiv. By comparison, the long-term average of earnings
outperformance is 65%.
Some 130 S&P 500 companies, or a quarter of the index, are
expected to report quarterly earnings this week.
"We expect a mixed to positive session as earnings continue to
uplift investors sentiment even though Brexit situation is closely
eyed," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan
Capital Securities in a research note.
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares of Halliburton Co.(HAL)slipped in premarket trading
Monday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburtons-stock-falls-after-profit-matches-expectations-but-revenue-falls-below-2019-10-21),
after the oil-services company reported a third-quarter profit that
was in line with expectations but revenue that fell below, amid
lower pressure pumping activity and reduced drilling and wireline
activity.
Boeing Co.'s stock (BA) was extending its decline to a two month
low following a report on Friday that said that internal messages
suggest the company misled federal aviation authorities
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-stock-at-its-lowest-in-two-months-after-report-jet-maker-may-have-misled-faa-2019-10-18)
about the safety of the 737 MAX jet.
How are other markets performing?
The 10-year Treasury note yield gained 2.8 basis points to trade
at 1.775%.
West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery shed 42
cents, or 0.8%, at $53.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Gold for December delivery on Comex headed $1.30, or 0.1%,
higher at $1,495.40 an ounce.
The ICE U.S. dollar index fell less than 0.1% to 97.211 on
Monday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 21, 2019 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)
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