4:15pm: Stocks advance as Big Tech, jobs to dominate
U.S. stocks finished broadly higher on Monday, kicking off a crucial week that features Big Tech earnings, an inflation update, and a key jobs report.
The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 each gained nearly 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average led the way, climbing over 250 points, or 0.7%.
Investors are anticipating earnings reports from five of the "Magnificent Seven" megacap companies, among 169 S&P 500 firms set to release results this week.
3:10pm: Oil prices drop
The Nasdaq was up 0.5%, the S&P 500 0.4%, and the Dow climbed around 300 points, or 0.7% by midafternoon Monday.
Markets were buoyed by Israel's restraint in targeting only military sites in Iran, avoiding oil and nuclear facilities. This led to a sharp drop in oil prices, with Brent falling 6% to $71.42 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate settling just above $67.
1:35pm: Preview of nonfarm payroll data
UBS anticipates significant noise in the upcoming US employment report but doesn't expect any abrupt shifts in the underlying trend for October.
Analysts are forecasting nonfarm payrolls to rise by 100,000, with 75,000 from the private sector and 25,000 from government jobs, while the unemployment rate likely remains at 4.1%.
The employment cost index is projected to accelerate by 1% in Q3, slightly above consensus. Real GDP growth for Q3 is estimated at 3.0%, though trade and inventories could shift this figure.
Inflation measures like headline PCE prices for September are expected to be close to the Fed's 2% target.
12:20pm: 'Relief rally'
Markets continued to enjoy a positive start on Monday, with all three major indices safely in the green by midday.
The Nasdaq was up around 0.5%, as was the S&P 500, while the Dow had gained around 0.7% just past the midpoint of Monday's trading day.
Chris Beauchamp of IG called the momentum a "relief rally."
"Stock indices begin the week on a positive footing as investors are relieved by Israel's muted retaliatory attack on Iran's military installations, avoiding oil or nuclear facilities," Beauchamp wrote.
"The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 trade close to their record highs ahead of this week's earnings by five of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks and key economic data such as the Fed's preferred PCE inflation gauge and US non-farm payrolls."
11:15am: Busy week ahead
Here's a look ahead at a very busy week in the stock market.
This week, five companies from the "Magnificent 7"—Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) (Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC)), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) (Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB)), and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT))—will report their earnings starting on Tuesday.
Other big names set to report are Ford on Monday, Visa, Pfizer and McDonald's on Tuesday, Starbucks and Eli Lilly on Wednesday, and Mastercard and Uber on Thursday.
Additionally, the US payrolls report set for release on Friday is expected to be a key driver of market sentiment.
9.56am: New York kicks off week on the front foot
Wall Street enjoyed a strong start to the week as trading got underway on Monday.
The Dow Jones gained 0.7% as the market opened, while the S&P 500 added 0.5% and the Nasdaq ticked up 0.6%.
This placed the Nasdaq at 18,622 and just off its record intraday high of 18,682 seen last Friday.
Though Monday marked a quieter day on the reporting front, attention was on a string of mega cap earnings later in the week, before non-farm payroll figures on Friday.
“One thing we expect to see play out is these mega cap tech names continuing to reinforce commitment to AI in tech spending broadly,” BMO Wealth Management’s Yung-Yu Ma commented.
“If for some reason we don’t get that - if a few of those tech companies reporting talk about say tapping on the brakes a little bit in some of these investments - the market would not take that well.”
Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Apple and Alphabet all gained on Monday morning ahead of updates from each over the course of the week.
8.48am: Stocks seen higher
Wall Street looked on course for a solid start on Monday, with the Nasdaq appearing close to its latest intraday record ahead of a host of mega cap earnings later in the week.
Futures had the Nasdaq up 106 points ahead of the opening bell and slightly off its intraday high of 18,684 recorded on Friday.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 were also seen 102 and 21 points higher respectively after declining on Friday.
It comes ahead of a busy week of earnings, which will see Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) among those updating.
“The Magnificent 7 tech stocks have been pulling away from the rest of the S&P 500 in recent months,” XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks noted.
“This week’s earnings releases will be key to see if this trend continues.”
Bond yields also climbed on Monday once more though, to 4.25% on 10-year treasuries, after a surge last week ahead of November’s election had pressured stocks.
“The recent gains seen for the dollar and US treasury yields highlight underlying concern as we head into an election that throws up uncertainty and likely volatility,” Scope Markets’ Joshua Mahony added.
“Nonetheless, with US indices continuing to show strength in spite of these risk-off dollar and yield indications, there is a clear sense that markets are front-running the election in anticipation of a surge in equities once the political uncertainty clears.”