Mese: Novembre 2023

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A diesel fuel nozzle with new European labels to standardise gasoline pumps in the EU zone is seen at a petrol station in Nice, France, October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Tuesday as markets worried less about potential supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict and on data showing rising output from OPEC and the United States.

Brent crude futures for December delivery, settled 4 cents lower at $87.41 a barrel, ahead of their expiry later on Tuesday. The more heavily traded January contract fell $1.33, or 1.4%，to $85.02.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $1.29, or 1.6%, to $81.02, while those for January delivery fell $1.18 to $80.50.

Trading was choppy with prices up as much as $1 higher during the session, but prices remain below $90 a barrel.

A Hamas spokesman said it will release a number of foreign captives in the coming days.

“We’ve taken some of the war premium out of the prices,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.

OPEC crude output rose by 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October, according to a Reuters survey, driven principally by Nigeria and Angola.

U.S. field production of crude oil also rose to a new monthly record in August at 13.05 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said.

Weaker-than-expected manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity data in China stoked fears of slowing fuel demand from the world’s No. 2 oil consumer.

Euro zone inflation in October was at its lowest level in two years, falling to 2.9% from 4.3% in September, according to Eurostat’s flash estimate. That means the European Central Bank (ECB) is unlikely to hike interest rates anytime soon.

Slow global economic growth will keep crude prices anchored below $90 a barrel this year and next, unless the Israel-Hamas conflict draws in more countries in the Middle East and exacerbates supply tightness, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

Investors remained wary of the potential for other countries entering the conflict.

“While Middle East developments have yet to affect oil, as the ground invasion intensifies, the risk of involvement from Iran rises, fueling tight supply concerns,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial market analyst at City Index.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a halt to fighting to ease a humanitarian crisis, as Israeli forces attacked Hamas in the network of tunnels under the Palestinian exclave.

Looking ahead to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting ending on Wednesday, analysts expect the central bank to hold rates steady, according to a poll by CME’s Fedwatch tool.

© Reuters.

Investing.com – Crude prices fell hard for a second day in a row and looked poised to end October with double-digit losses as oil bulls who rushed to hedge against the Israel-Hamas war discovered to their disappointment that the rest of the market wasn’t prepared to assign a war risk premium to a trade simply unaffected by the conflict.

Weaker-than-anticipated factory activity in top crude importer China added to the gloom of the market.

New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude for December delivery, settled at $81.02 per barrel, down $1.29, or 1.6% on the day, adding to Monday’s 3.8% slump.

Aside from its more than 5% drop on the week, the US crude benchmark looked likely to finish the current month down as much as 11%. That would be its worst performance since May, just before the announcement of Saudi-Russian production cuts that led to four straight months of rally in oil.

UK-origin Brent crude’s most-active January contract was at $85.16, down $1.19, or 1.4%, by 15:00 Eastern US Time (19:00 Greenwich Mean Time). Brent was also down almost 11% on the month in what appeared to be its worst month since August 2022.

After last week’s stumble, oil began this week deeper in the red as traders looked beyond the war in the Middle East to concerns over what the Federal Reserve could do at its interest rate decision on Wednesday.

“It is interesting crude prices have given up the bulk of their gains since Hamas attacked Israel which suggests either the geopolitical risk-premium has sharply reduced or global economic concerns have increased, perhaps a combination of the two,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at online trading platform OANDA.

The Fed is expected to hold interest rates unchanged after 11 hikes between March 2022 and July this year that boosted the base US lending rate from just 0.25% to 5.5%.

But the central bank still has another meeting in December where it could still do another raise. Data showed on Tuesday that US labor costs increased solidly in the third quarter amid strong wage growth while house price inflation accelerated in August, the latest signs that the Fed could keep interest rates high for some time.

On top of the wage inflation report, the Fed will get an even more influential reading on US jobs and wages when October’s non-farm payrolls report is released on Friday.

In China, manufacturing activity unexpectedly shrank in October, while non-manufacturing growth slowed substantially.

The reading indicated that despite a slew of stimulus measures from Beijing, business activity was struggling to recover and raised more questions over just how much more Chinese oil consumption will increase this year, given the steadily worsening economic conditions.

(Peter Nurse and Ambar Warrick contributed to this item)

© Reuters.

Investing.com — The Dow closed higher Tuesday on the final day of trade for October, as investors digested a raft of corporate earnings, but stocks couldn’t avoid racking up a third-straight loss for the first time since March 2020. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% or 123 points, and the  S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.5%.

Caterpillar, JetBlue disappoint on earnings stage

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) fell nearly 7% after the industrial equipment maker’s order backlog narrowed, stoking worries about slowing equipment demand and offsetting Q3 results that topped on both the top and bottom lines.

JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:JBLU) was also punished for weaker-than-expected quarterly results and the airline cut its annual guidance, citing a “challenging operation backdrop.” Its shares fell about 10%.

Wolfspeed rally support rise in chip stocks; AMD eyed

Wolfspeed Inc (NYSE:WOLF) rallied 22% to lift the broader chip sector after delivering better-than-feared quarterly results. But some on Wall Street remain cautious on the stock awaiting further visibility on performance of its Mohawk Valley chip-making factory, which was opened last year.

“While we view WOLF’s progress as substantial, we remain on the sidelines pending further derisking of Mohawk Valley,” Oppenheimer said in a note.

The uptick in chip stocks comes just hours ahead of the quarterly results from Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) due after the market closes.

“AMD’s CQ3 estimates should be achievable, particularly assuming some benefit from improving consumer PC shipments,” Wedbush said in a recent note.

Consumer confidence falls for third-month in a row; Fed decision in focus

Consumer confidence in October fell for the third-straight month, although the decline was less than economists had expected as inflation concerns continue to grow.

“Write-in responses showed that consumers continued to be preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for grocery and gasoline prices in particular,” Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board said on Tuesday.

The news come just hours ahead of the Fed’s two-day meeting, which is expected to culminate in an unchanged decision on interest rates.

Treasury yields higher ahead of refinancing announcement

Treasury yields added to gains from a day earlier as investors looked ahead to the Treasury refunding announcement due Wednesday after the department on Monday cut its quarterly borrowing estimate for Q4 to $776 trillion from $852 trillion previously. 

The Treasury’s funding plans have garnered added attention recently following a surge in Treasury yields, which some have attributed increased Treasury supply.

© Reuters.

Investing.com — Stocks rallied to close out the month, though it was still ugly for the indexes.

Despite rising on Monday and Tuesday, the S&P and Dow ended October down for the month, as did Nasdaq.

Investors have been worried about the effects of higher for longer rates, something Federal Reserve officials have said is necessary to complete its mission of getting inflation back to their 2% target. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates steady at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday, but could suggest another interest rate increase could be coming later this year.

Friday’s jobs report will give the Fed and investors a new reading on the state of the still-tight labor market. Job openings data expected on Wednesday is expected to show a similar amount of openings as the month earlier, and analysts expect Friday’s report will show lower job growth than in September. Still, unemployment remains at multiyear lows and economists are worried about the effect of rising wages on inflation.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) earnings highlight this week of earnings, though many more S&P 500 company reports are also expected. Analysts have been listening to what executives say about their outlook for consumer spending and business demand for the remainder of the year.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Mondelez earnings

Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), the maker of Oreo cookies and other packaged foods, is expected to report earnings per share of 78 cents on revenue of $8.8 billion.

2. Airbnb reports

Home and vacation share company Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) is expected to report earnings of $2.12 a share on revenue of $3.4 billion. It could provide investors with a reading on the state of travel demand after weaker than expected earnings from JetBlue on Tuesday.

3. Qualcomm earnings

Chip maker Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is expected to report earnings of $1.91 a share on revenue of $8.5 billion.

© Reuters. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 20, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Sinéad Carew and Amruta Khandekar

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes ended Tuesday’s session with gains as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy update while they digested a mixed batch of earnings reports.

The Fed kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, and investors will monitor its statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments for clues about its plans.

Optimism that the Fed would pause rate hikes was offset by reactions to disappointing earnings reports and jitters over geopolitics.

Shares in heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) sank 6.7% as signs of slowing demand overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. And drugmaker Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s stock fell 2.8% as third-quarter sales of some high-profile medicines were below expectations.

But with 10-year Treasury yields up just slightly for much of the day, some investors looked for bargains in light of recent weakness in stocks, said Sameer Samana, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“All roads right now lead back to long-term rates which impact equities,” said Samana, adding that in stocks some investors may be encouraged by the idea that, “the recent sell-off brings us back to fairly valued from over-valued levels.”

However the strategist was wary of upcoming events that could be huge catalysts for bonds and in turn equities. Along with the Fed’s policy update, he is also waiting for the U.S. Treasury Department’s financing plans due out on Wednesday.

Analysts have said it is likely to boost the size of auctions for bills, notes, and bonds in the fourth quarter to fund a widening budget deficit. This would cause rates to rise further and hurt stocks, according to Wells Fargo’s Samana.

On Friday, investors will also monitor the October U.S. jobs report and the Treasury market’s reaction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.91 points, or 0.38%, to 33,052.87, the S&P 500 gained 26.98 points, or 0.65%, to 4,193.8 and the Nasdaq Composite added 61.76 points, or 0.48%, to 12,851.24.

All 11 of the S&P 500’s major industry sectors advanced, with real estate up 2% and leading gains, while the biggest laggard, communication services, gained 0.2%.

“Today’s move back into positive territory is on the growing consensus the Fed is more likely to hold off on any more rate hikes this year,” said Greg Bassuk, chief executive of AXS Investments in New York.

Bassuk also pointed to mixed earnings reports and companies “messaging concerns about upcoming quarters with energy prices rising and increasing uncertainty” around wars in Israel and Ukraine that are “showing no end in sight.”

All three of Wall Street’s major averages registered their third monthly loss in a row.

For the S&P 500, down 2.2% for the month, and the Dow, off 1.4%, it was the longest monthly losing streak since the pandemic roiled markets in early 2020.

Nasdaq which lost 2.8% in October, last fell for three straight months in the period ending June 2022.

Earlier in the day, data showing a solid increase in U.S. labor costs in the third quarter prompted some concerns the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer.

Of the 279 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, over 78% have beaten analyst estimates, per LSEG data. Analyst expect earnings growth of 4.9% for S&P 500 companies in the third quarter.

In individual stocks, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares closed well above their session low but still down 0.9%, after a report said the latest U.S. curbs could force the chip designer to cancel billions of dollars of orders to China.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) shares ralled 19% after the image-sharing platform beat third-quarter revenue and profit estimates.

VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) shares sold off almost 14% after the Vans sneaker maker withdrew its annual forecast. But Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) stock rallied 14% after it gave an upbeat fourth-quarter revenue outlook.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares plummeted 37.5% on the failure of its muscle disorder gene therapy in a late-stage trial. Shares of Sarepta’s client, Catalent (NYSE:CTLT), fell 13.9%.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.69-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 262 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges 10.67 billion shares changed hands compared with the 10.64 billion average for the last 20 sessions.