The Dow and S&P 500 are unable to climb above breakeven
Despite the U.S. government managing to avoid a shutdown over the weekend, stock futures are sporting marginal movements this morning. Today marks the first trading day of a new month and quarter, but is otherwise looking quiet, aside from a lift in bond yields. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are inching lower, while the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) sits slightly above breakeven.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- 3 oil stocks for bulls to watch.
- A quick recap of the end of the quarter.
- Plus, 3 stocks enjoying analyst praise before the bell.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 1.3 million call contracts and 910,419 put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.73 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.67.
- Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) is enjoying a 1.2% premarket jump, after being added to Goldman Sachs' Americas conviction list. The firm cited the chip stock as a market leader, expecting it to maintain its outperformance. NVDA has surged nearly 200% in 2023, and is just a few months off its Aug. 24 record peak of $502.66.
- Cleaning giant Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX) is moving 0.7% higher before the bell, after landing an upgrade to "buy" from "neutral" at D.A. Davidson. Despite CLX's long-term underperformance, the analyst felt optimistic after the company gave an upbeat outlook following its recent cyber attack. CLX is down 7% year-to-date.
- Sunnova Energy International Inc (NYSE:NOVA) is inching higher ahead of the open, after UBS initiated a "buy" recommendation on the solar name. The firm says the increasing demand for solar will give the equity a positive position in the market. NOVA sports a 41% year-to-date deficit with overhead pressure at the 20-day moving average.
- See what economic data is scheduled this week.
Manufacturing Slip Sends Europeans Stocks Lower
China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in September from August’s 49.7 reading, marking expansion for the first time in six months. China’s Shanghai Composite is closed for the Golden Week holiday, while the South Korean Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are closed as well. Japan’s Nikkei, however, started the week with a 0.3% drop.
European markets are lower as manufacturing output continues to fall. London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.4% at last glance, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX were both last seen 0.3% lower.