US Futures Flat After Stocks Notch Best Month of the Year
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Key Takeaways
- Stocks on Wall Street ended October with the best monthly gain for the year
- Bitcoin and crypto assets maintained sideways trading over the weekend
Whatâs on Focus in the Markets?
US stock futures are trading fairly flat early Monday as investors prepare to enter the first trading day of November. After a wild month, Wall Street stocks were able to close out October with their best monthly performance in 2021.
In more detail, stocks across the board set a series of records in October, the latest of them made Friday. Not only that, but all three major indexes, the S&P500, the Dow Jones, and the Nasdaq, closed Fridayâs session at record highs.
The positive market session shrugged off disappointing quarterly reports from technology giants Apple and Amazon. Both companies delivered downbeat financial results for the September quarter and predicted the holiday quarter could be even worse. In turn, shares of Apple and Amazon dropped 1.8%, and 2.1%, respectively, during the final session of October.
Where Are Stocks Headed?
Still, despite challenges such as surging inflation, supply-chain issues, and tight labor market, traders piled into stocks broadly. As a result, all three stock gauges posted their fourth positive week in a row.
That said, the Nasdaq Composite finished October higher by 7.2%, while the S&P500 added 6.9%. Both benchmarks closed out their best month of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the other hand, advanced 5.8% over the month, its best performance since March.
Against that backdrop, traders and investors show increased risk appetite in the financial markets ahead of a busy week.
Whatâs Next for Traders and Investors?
With this in mind, several important economic updates and market developments are lined up this week. Among them, the US Federal Reserve is gathering for its regular two-day policy meeting. Scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, the big event will conclude with a press conference by Chairman Jerome Powell.
He is expected to present details over the central bankâs plans for tapering or reducing, the monetary stimulus. But more importantly, however, he needs to assuage investor fears over record-high inflation.
On that front, higher prices have reached a 30-year high. And that is according to the Fedâs preferred measure of inflation â core PCE inflation, which jumped 3.6%, Friday data showed.
Also, traders will be watching for fresh labor market data. More precisely, the nonfarm payrolls report and unemployment report are slated for Friday. Nonfarm payrolls will show how many new jobs were added to the US economy in October.
Whatâs the Latest News on Bitcoin?
Over to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the original digital currency hovered mostly flat over the weekend. A quick jump in bitcoinâs price on Friday helped secure a fifth straight week in the green.
Presently, bitcoin is trading near unchanged levels around $60,500 per coin. Crypto backers, meanwhile, remain optimistic the market is still young and the rally would continue as the end of the year approaches.
Todayâs Economic Calendar (EST times)
- 05:30 am, GBP, Manufacturing PMI (Oct)
- 11:00 am, US, ISM Manufacturing PMI (Oct)
- 07:50 pm, JPY, BoJ Monetary Policy Statement
- 11:30 pm, AUD, RBA Interest Rate Decision (Nov)
- 11:30 pm, AUD, RBA Rate Statement
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