Stock Futures Choppy as Wall Street Awaits More Earnings

Stock futures are a mixed bag to start the week, as investors await this week's deluge of earnings reports for insights into the health of the U.S. market. Quarterly results from financial giants helped start the third-quarter earnings season on the right foot on Friday, as all eyes now turn to Wall Street stalwarts like Goldman Sachs (GS), Netflix (NFLX), Procter & Gamble (PG), this week. 

Price action could be muted throughout the session, as some stateside financial and economic institutions are closed in observance of Columbus Day. While the stock market is open, the bond market and Federal Reserve are both closed. 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• This small-cap ETF could burn bearish bettors.
• Bull signal flashing for underperforming restaurant stock.
• Plus, Buffett ups SIRI stake; more Boeing pressure; and CAT downgraded.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 2.1 million call contracts and 962,162 put contracts exchanged on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.44 and the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.
2. Sirius XM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI) stock is 3.7% higher premarket after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) last week bought 3.6 million additional shares of the satellite radio company for $87 million, bringing its total holdings to 108.7 million -- a 32% stake. Year to date, SIRI is already 54.2% lower. 
3. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) stock is 2.1% lower before the opening bell following news that the company will cut 10% of its global workforce -- around 17,000 jobs -- as the aerospace name continues to deal with its biggest union's month-long strike.  Additionally, Boeing furthered delayed the launch of its 777X jet. Since the beginning of 2024, BA is down 42.1%.
4. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) stock is down 1.9% before the open after Morgan Stanley downgraded the construction-equipment maker to "underweight" from "equal weight" and lowered its price target to $332 from $349. The analyst in coverage cited mounting pressure on the firm's construction industries segment. Year over year, CAT is up 49.1%.
5. Take a look at what to expect this week.

Investors Digest China's Stimulus Press Conference

Asian markets mostly gained today, as investors reacted to China’s press conference on Saturday. The Shanghai Composite added 2.1%, after China’s Minister of Finance promised more debt issuance to prop up the economy. The press briefing was timely; China’s consumer price index (CPI) fell short of expectations and came in at its slowest rate in three months, while its producer price index (PPI) also whiffed on estimates. Gross domestic product (GDP) and trade data is on tap for the mainland later this week. Elsewhere around the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8% despite a big day from real estate stocks, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.

Over in Europe, bourses are flat midday. At last check, London’s FTSE 100 is marginally higher, the French CAC 40 is off by 0.3%, and the German DAX is 0.3% higher.