Stock futures are confidently higher ahead of the Fed meeting later today
Stock futures are pointed higher to start November, as the U.S. Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are indicating a 227-point pop, fresh off the blue-chip benchmark's best month since 1976. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are looking to open with solid gains as well, as Wall Street unpacks encouraging corporate reports from heavy-hitters Pfizer (PFE) and Uber Technologies (UBER).
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone on how bulls may benefit from this week's Fed decision.
- Keep tabs on this Toast stock signal.
- Plus, Pfizer's big earnings win; Avis Budget seeing continued travel demand; and HOLX surges on strong outlook.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.1 million call contracts and 723,884 put contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.61, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.68.
- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is up 3.2% in premarket trading, after the pharmaceutical concern reported a third-quarter earnings and revenue win. The company attributed the results to strong demand for its older drugs, which made up for sluggish sales of its Covid-19 products, and raised its 2022 outlook. Year-to-date, though, Pfizer stock remains down 21.2%.
- Continued travel demand helped Avis Budget Group Inc (NASDAQ:CAR) deliver better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue yesterday. The shares are up 3.6% ahead of the open, as the equity looks to add to its 14% year-to-date lead.
- Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) is up 6.4% before the open, after the medical device company's Wall Street's fourth-quarter profit and revenue topped estimates. What's more, Hologic's full-year outlook was raised amid “unprecedented strength” across core businesses. HOLX is still down 11.4% year-to-date, though.
-
Today brings the S&P U.S. manufacturing PMI, the ISM manufacturing index, jobs openings and quits, construction spending, and motor vehicle sales.
European Markets Higher as U.S. Fed Meeting Kicks Off
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared today, adding 5.2% and brushing off a lackluster earnings report from Toyota (TM). For context, the index shed over 14% in October and was trading around 13-year bottoms before today. Unconfirmed news of reopening talks boosted China, with tech stocks leading the charge. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 2.6%, while the South Korean Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively.
Markets in Europe, meanwhile, are on the rise midday, as investors shift their focus to the Fed’s two-day policy meeting. The French CAC 40 is leading the gainers with a 1.6% pop, while London’s FTSE is up 1.4%, and the German DAX rises 1.3%.