Stock-index futures pointed to a higher start for Wall Street on Monday, with analysts tying support to continued hopes for a stimulus package as well as positive economic data from China.
What are major benchmarks doing?
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, +0.56% rose 193 points, or 0.7%, to 28,601, while S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.69% gained 27.80 points, or 0.8%, to 3,490. Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, +0.90% were up 127.50 points, or 1.1%, at 11,925.50.
Stocks rose Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak and allowing the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.39% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.01% to each log a third straight weekly gains. The Dow rose 0.1% for the week, ending Friday at 28,606.31, while the S&P 500 saw a 0.2% weekly rise to close at 3,483.81. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.36% rose 0.8% for the week to end at 11,671.56.
What’s driving the market?
Analysts said hopes remain for lawmakers and the White House to come to an agreement on a stimulus plan as room for a pre-election deal appeared to run short. A top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted Saturday night that an agreement was needed within 48 hours to get a package approved before Election Day on Nov. 3.
“Given recent history, it’s hard to say whether a bill will be approved or not, however the earlier the bill is signed the better it is for households, the economy and equity markets,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, in a note. “The slight rise in U.S. Treasury yields and futures are signs of optimism that a deal could be reached before 3 November, but chances of disappointment remain high.”
Some analysts have argued markets would be satisfied with a stimulus package that arrives after the election. Stronger-than-expected retail sales data on Friday underlined economic momentum and signaled that the consumer remains in good shape overall, which should allow consumption to hold up through the fourth quarter.
Read: Can the Dow rally without a stimulus deal? Bulls put faith in a resilient consumer
Earnings season moves into full-swing this week, with 84 S&P 500 companies and eight Dow components set to deliver third-quarter results. Among the heavy hitters due up, investors will be paying close attention to results from 2020 highfliers Tesla Inc. TSLA, -2.05% and Netflix Inc. NFLX, -2.05%.
Analysts said global equities were buoyed by data showing China’s gross domestic product expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier — falling short of expectations but bringing China’s growth trajectory closer to forecasts made at the beginning of the year for a 2020 expansion between 5.5% and 6%.
Which stocks are in focus?
- Shares of Halliburton Co. HAL rose 2% in premarket trade, after the oil-field-services company reported a third-quarter adjusted profit that exceeded expectations while revenue fell below forecasts.
- ConocoPhillips COP, -3.43% confirmed earlier reports from last week that it would buy Concho Resources Inc. CXO, -1.89%, in an all-stock deal valued at $9.7 billion.
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