US markets point higher ahead of tech earnings
Newslooks- NEW YORK- (AP)
Futures for the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.9% Monday while futures for the S&P climbed 0.8%.
Investors have been focusing on corporate earnings as they search for clues about how inflation and rising interest rates are shaping global economies. Among a slew of companies reporting earnings this week are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook parent Meta, as well as Coca-Cola, General Motors.
Big tech and other high growth companies have been roughed up by a series of aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve which is attempting to slow the economy and tame inflation. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates another three-quarters of a percentage point at its meeting in November. That’s triple the size of a typical hike and it would be its fourth 0.75 percent increase in a row.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s benchmark plunged 6.4% on Monday as dismay over a lack of fresh policy initiatives from a Chinese Communist Party congress overshadowed a report that the No. 2 economy grew at a faster pace in the last quarter.
The dollar rose to nearly 150 yen before settling back, a day after the Japanese central bank reportedly again moved to stem the yen’s decline.
Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he will not run to lead the Conservative Party. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is now the favorite to replace Liz Truss, who quit last week after her tax-cutting economic package caused turmoil in financial markets.
France’s CAC 40 rose 1.9% in early trading and Germany’s DAX climbed 2%.
Beijing’s report that the Chinese economy gained momentum in the last quarter was better than expected and up from the previous quarter’s 0.4%, but that was among the slowest expansions in decades as the country wrestled with repeated closures of cities to fight virus outbreaks.
There were no new market-boosting initiatives from the Communist Party congress, where Xi Jinping, the most powerful leader in decades, gained a free hand in setting policy. The ruling party named a seven-member Standing Committee made of Xi’s allies and dropped supporters of free enterprise like Premier Li Keqiang, the party’s No. 2 before the party’s once in five years congress.
Xi wants a bigger Communist Party role in business and technology development. That has prompted warnings tighter control of entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth will depress growth that already was in long-term decline.
The 6.4% plunge in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, to 15,180.69, took it to its lowest level since 2006.
Shares in notable Chinese companies Tencent, Baidu and JD.com all fell more than 10%.
The Shanghai Composite index shed 2.0% to 2,977.56.
Xi also gave no sign of plans to change the severe “zero-COVID” strategy that has crimped business and trade. He indicated no changes in policies straining relations with Washington and Asian neighbors.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to finish at 26,974.90. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.5% to 6,779.40. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.0% to 2,236.16.
Wall Street ended last week with a broad rally, with technology stocks, retailers and health care companies powering a big share of the gains.
The S&P 500 rose 2.4%, notching a weekly gain of 4.7%, its biggest such gain since June. The Dow climbed 2.5% and the Nasdaq composite added 2.3%. The Russell 2000 index rose 2.2%.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 148.97 Japanese yen from 147.65 yen. The Bank of Japan was reported to have intervened Friday to prop up the yen after the dollar rose above the 150 yen level. The dollar fell after the reported intervention but bounced back.
The euro cost 98.31 cents, down from 98.62 cents.
The dollar has gained in strength as the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to fight inflation. Its growing strength against the yen and other currencies has added to inflationary pressures in those countries by pushing up the costs of imports and of debt repayments.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.08 to $84.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, declined to $2.99 to $90.51 a barrel.
