Stocks ended higher Monday as investors unpacked details of a busy weekend of headline risk and braced for what could be a crucial five-day stretch on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 273.17 points, or 0.65%, to end the day at 42,387.57, while the S&P rose 0.27% to close at 5,823.52, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.26% to finish the session at 18,567.19.
“The economic calendar this week will be among the busiest in 2024,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “The October jobs report will likely show a severe, but short-lived hit from hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
“Employment probably rose at the slowest pace this year, and the disasters likely distorted the unemployment rate, average earnings, participation, and the average workweek,” Adams added. "The report will tell us little about the economy's trend.
"The job openings report, released with a one-month lag to the jobs report, is likely to show job openings held steady at around 8 million vacancies in September."
Updated at 11:42 AM EDT
"Trump trade' auction?
Benchmark Treasury bond yields climbed higher again in late-morning trading following a weaker-than-expected auction of $69 billion in new 2-year notes.
Investors placed bids worth $172.5 billion for the entire auction, generating a so-called bid-to-cover ratio of 2.5, well south of the six-auction average of around 2.65. Foreign investors, meanwhile, took down around 58.2% of the sale, again shy of the six-auction average of 67.1%.
Benchmark 10-year note yields rose 3 basis points to 4.282% following the auction results, while 2-year paper was last seen trading at 4.138%.
Related: Stocks eye 'Trump Trade' as Treasury yields climb in deadlocked election
Updated at 9:36 AM EDT
Solid start to busy week
The S&P 500 was marked 33 points, or 0.57% higher in the opening minutes of trading, while the Nasdaq gained 131 points, or 0.71%
The Dow, meanwhile, gained 280 points and the mid-cap Russell 2000 index was marked 20 points higher, or 0.89%.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields eased 4 basis points to 4.236% while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.127%.
The market is entering a critical stretch after snapping a six-week winning streak," said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
"This week’s megacap tech earnings and jobs data will provide plenty of potential fuel for near-term market momentum, but it remains to be seen whether investors will want to sit on their hands until after next week’s election, especially given the volatility around the past two," he added. "The S&P 500 sold off the week before the 2016 and 2020 elections and rallied sharply after them."
Updated at 8:36 AM EDT
Apple on deck
Apple shares edged higher in early trading following a pair of analysts notes tied to tech giant's iPhone demand outlook in this week's fourth quarter earnings.
Apple unveiled the new iPhone, which it sees as a conduit for its AI ambitions, in early September, but data suggests a muted take-up head of software updates that will include new AI features over the coming days. That likely puts its December-quarter demand outlook, expected with its fourth quarter earnings after the close of trading Thursday, in share focus.
Apple shares were marked 0.38% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $232.80 each.
Related: Top analysts revisit Apple stock outlook ahead of key Q4 earnings
Updated at 7:02 AM EDT
Boeing cash
Boeing (BA) shares edged lower in premarket trading after the troubled planemaker unveiled plans to raise around $18 billion through two rounds of equity issues as it looks to tighten its balance sheet amid the ongoing machinists' strike.
Boeing will sell 90 million new common shares, likely raising around $13.5 billion, while also issuing around $5 billion in new depositary shares. The new capital raising will add to a $10 billion credit facility it agreed with a group of lenders earlier this month.
Boeing shares were marked 0.33% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $154.74 each
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended lower for the first week in seven late Friday, with the S&P 500 down marginally on the session but dipping around 0.85% for the week amid a mixed set of corporate earnings, a selloff in Treasury bonds and uncertainty tied to a deadlock U.S. presidential election.
Bonds are back in the red this week, as well, with benchmark 10-year note yields extending their October surge by another 5 basis points overnight to trade at 4.276% heading into the New York session.
Benchmark 2-year notes were also on the rise, and were last pegged at 4.127%, ahead of a $69 billion auction in new paper later in the session and this week's PCE inflation reading for the month of September on Thursday.
Labor markets will also be in focus this week with readings on job openings from the Commerce Department on Tuesday, payroll processing group ADP's National Employment report Wednesday, weekly jobless claims Thursday and the benchmark non-farm payroll report for the month of September on Friday.
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Investors will also navigate a hectic calendar of corporate earnings, with 169 S&P 500 companies reporting October-quarter updates this week, including five of the so-called Magnificent 7 cohort: Alphabet (GOOGL) on Tuesday, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) on Wednesday and Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday.
So far this earnings season, with around 181 companies reporting, collective S&P 500 profits are forecast to rise 4.4% from last year to a $508.1 billion, with estimates for fourth quarter gains pegged at around 11.2%.
Related: Stocks are bracing for a monster week
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is up 0.8% for the month, are priced for a 36 point opening bell gain.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, suggest a 200 point advance with those tied to the tech-focused Nasdaq indicating a 172 point gain following from Friday's close.
Stocks are also getting a boost from a big decline in oil prices, which fell more than 5% in the overnight session following a targeted weekend strike on Iran by Israeli military forces that spared the country's oil and nuclear facilities.
Brent crude futures contracts for December delivery, the global pricing benchmark, were last marked $4.46 lower at $71.60 each while WTI contracts for the same month slumped $4.37 to $67.41 per barrel.
More Wall Street Analysts:
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In overseas markets, global investor optimism helped lift the Stoxx 600 benchmark 0.35% higher in the opening minutes of trading in Frankfurt, with Britain's FTSE 100 slipping 0.07% in London.
Related: Legendary hedge fund manager sounds alarm on US debt (Here's why he's wrong)
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.8% in Tokyo following weekend elections that saw Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party suffer its worst election result since 2009, with the powerful coalition leader likely to lose its parliamentary majority.
The loss likely means a more dovish tilt on rate from the Bank of Japan, and a stimulative policy on spending from whichever government emerges victorious. That's pushing the yen further into the red, with the currency trading at a fresh three-month low against the U.S. dollar.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
