Building on Friday’s US index gains of 0.4% to 2.0%, US index futures are up 0.1% to 0.4%, with the NASDAQ leading the advance both days. Over in Europe, the Dax is steady, while the FTSE is up 0.4%. Asia Pacific trading saw Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong gain 0.5%-0.8% overnight.
Commodity and currency action is mixed this morning. US Crude oil is down 0.6%, while Natural Gas is up 0.8% and Copper is up again, rising another 0.8%. Gold is flat, but cryptos are taking it in the chin again with Bitcoin falling 2.2%.
It’s a potentially big week for market-moving news between the heart of earnings season and the turn of the month. The main event is Wednesday’s Fed decision and statement where investors may be watching for hints on whether the Fed is prepared to slam the door on a potential June interest rate cut or not with “higher for longer” still the party line at most major central banks. And if they do postpone rate cuts, potentially for how long?
The turn of the month brings a number of significant economic reports headlined by Manufacturing PMI and US ADP payrolls on Wednesday, followed by Service PMI and US Nonfarm payrolls on Friday. Other notable economic numbers include Chicago PMI tomorrow and US Construction Spending on Wednesday.
The biggest news on the corporate side today is a weekend report that Tesla has made strides toward launching driverless cars in China, which has its shares up 12.3% in premarket trading. Earnings season resumes tomorrow and it’s another big week for corporate reports headlined by Amazon.com, Eli Lilly*, Coca-Cola, AMD and McDonalds on Tuesday, Mastercard and Pfizer on Wednesday, and Apple, Booking Holdings*, ConocoPhillips, and Linde* on Thursday. Canadian Headliners include Cenovus Energy, Loblaws, Barrick Gold, and Great West Lifeco on Wednesday, followed by Thomson Reuters*, Canadian Natural Resources*, BCE, and Fairfax Financial* on Thursday, and Magna International plus TC Energy on Friday.
*Shares of Eli Lilly, Linde, Booking Holdings, Canadian Natural Resources, Thomson Reuters, and Fairfax Financial are held in portfolios managed by SIA Wealth Management.