Shares in Asia jumped Monday, building on U.S. gains after Friday’s blockbuster jobs report fueled investor optimism. Oil prices paused their sharp rise as investors awaited Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack. China’s markets reopen tomorrow after the Golden Week holidays.
- S&P 500 Futures: 5,766.25 ⬇️ down 0.58%
- S&P 500: 5,751.07 ⬆️ up 0.90%
- Nasdaq Composite: 18,137.85 ⬆️ up 1.22%
- DowJones Industrial Average: 42,352.75 ⬆️ up 0.81%
- STOXX Europe 600: 517.17 ⬇️ down 0.27%
- Hang Seng Index: 23,099.78 ⬆️ up 1.60%
- Nikkei 225: 39,332.74 ⬆️ up 1.80%
- Bitcoin: $63,270.50 ⬆️ up 0.71%
China: Hong Kong stocks surge again as mainland markets prepare to reopen
Hong Kong shares jumped again, rising 1.60% the day before mainland China markets reopen. Beijing said it would explain the details of its economic stimulus plans at a Tuesday morning news conference.
Japan: Yen falls and Nintendo jumps
The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% as the yen fell, at one point touching its weakest level against the dollar in over two months. That’s good news for the country’s big export manufacturers, but a weak yen raises the cost of imports at a time of rising oil prices. Shares in Nintendo jumped 4.4% on news that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was open to expanding its stake in the game maker.
Europe: Middle East worries outweigh jobs optimism
European stocks opened higher Monday morning but slid back, as worries about Mideast tensions outweighed optimism inspired by Friday’s strong jobs report in the U.S. Further tempering investors was data showing that factory orders in Germany plummeted in August. The STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.27% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat in early trading.
U.S. premarket down as investors consider ‘no landing’ scenario
All three U.S. indexes fell in premarket trading Monday, as optimism inspired by Friday’s blockbuster jobs report shifted to predictions of a “no landing” scenario—where the U.S. keeps growing and inflation returns, trimming back hopes for more interest rate reductions by the Fed.
Pfizer shares rose more than 2% in pre-market trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that the activist investor Starboard Value had taken an approximately $1 billion stake in the struggling drugmaker. Starboard wants Pfizer to make changes to turn its performance around as it struggles with fading sales of COVID-19 products.
U.S. markets surged Friday on job numbers. Now, it’s earnings season
Stocks surged Friday on news that U.S. employers added 254,000 jobs in September, surpassing estimates and signaling continued economic strength. The S&P 500 closed up 0.90%, and the Dow neared its record, up 0.81%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.22% with big gains for Nvidia, Broadcom, and Advanced Micro Devices.
Now investor attention will turn to earnings. Pepsico kicks it off with its report Tuesday, followed by Delta Air Lines on Thursday and JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and BlackRock on Friday. The CEP inflation index for September also comes out before the bell on Thursday.
