Investors could see a second straight day of an opening in the green on Wall Street as the index futures point to a positive start on Friday. Treasury yields started cooling again after scaling three-month highs.
While Friday is a little light on the earnings side, consumer sentiment data and a speech by Boston Fed President Susan Collins could set the tone for the markets for the last day of the week.
All three major indices could close in the red for this week after surging for six consecutive weeks.
| Futures | Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.27% |
| S&P 500 | 0.26% |
| Dow Jones | 0.23% |
| R2K | 0.56% |
In premarket trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.30% to $580.95 and the Invesco QQQ ETF QQQ surged 0.32% to $493.91, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
EV giant Tesla Inc.'s TSLA shares witnessed their best single-day gain in over a decade after the Elon Musk-led EV giant blew past expectations.
A tightly packed week of earnings is now drawing to a close, with nearly a third of S&P 500 companies having reported their results. According to FactSet data, more than 70% of these companies have managed to beat expectations in terms of profits.
The S&P 500 ended its 3-day losing streak while the Nasdaq Composite maintained its momentum on the back of Tesla and other tech stocks.
On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 15,000 from the prior week to 227,000 during the period ending Oct. 19, compared to market estimates of 242,000.
Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a negative note, with materials, industrials, and utilities stocks recording the biggest losses on Thursday. However, consumer discretionary and communication services stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.76% | 18,415.49 |
| S&P 500 | 0.21% | 5,809.86 |
| Dow Jones | -0.33% | 42,374.36 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.23% | 2,218.92 |
Insights From Analysts:
Following six consecutive weeks of gains, the markets have remained gloomy this week, with tech stocks offering some respite amid sideways movements in most other sectors.
Benchmark US 10-year treasury yields continued to cool down after scaling three-month highs.
On the economic data front, the S&P Global flash manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8 in October versus a 15-month low level of 47.3 in September, while services PMI increased to 55.3 in October from 55.2 in the prior month.
"The election itself can be a bit of a hairy situation. I think right now, although the market sort of has been pricing in some Trump trades, I think the polls are still telling you that it’s a coin toss," Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick said in an interview with Market Domination.
On the other hand, despite the Tesla stock "firing on all cylinders" and turning positive year-to-date after Thursday's rally, fund manager Louis Navellier thinks the EV giant still has to improve its fundamentals before going long on the stock.
"Now is not a good time to buy Tesla. I would wait for its fundamentals to improve further before investing in the company."
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Upcoming Economic Data:
- Data on durable goods orders is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Data on consumer sentiment is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. ET.
- University of Michigan (UoM) is scheduled to release one and five-year inflation expectations at 10 a.m. ET.
- Boston Fed President Susan Collins is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET.
Stocks In Focus:
- Tesla will stay in focus after the stock registered its best single-day gains in over a decade, a day after beating margin and EPS estimates in its third-quarter earnings.
- Capri Holdings Ltd. CPRI tumbled over 46% in premarket trading after a judge blocked its acquisition by fashion group Tapestry Inc. TPR.
- Spirit Airlines Inc. SAVE stock surged over 11% in premarket trading after the carrier announced the sale of 23 Airbus A320 aircraft worth $519 million. It also announced job cuts.
Investors are awaiting earnings results from AutoNation, Inc. AN, Colgate-Palmolive Company CL, and HCA Healthcare Inc. HCA today.
Commodities, Bonds And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures rose in the early New York session, surging nearly 0.7% as data showed a rise in spot demand.
The 10-year Treasury note yield eased marginally to 4.198%.
Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, with Chinese markets rising marginally while Japan's Nikkei 225 registering a decline.
European stocks remained tentative in early trading, concluding what has been a gloomy week so far.
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