(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The American stock markets are heading for a lower opening on Thursday, while bond yields are less volatile and it appears that the sell-off in government bonds is subsiding.
Futures on the leading S&P 500 index were up to 0.2 percent in the red half an hour before the opening.
The bond market remains the driving force for stock futures, as investors crunch the incoming economic data to see what the Federal Reserve can do with its monetary policy.
“We had one message this week with good news and one with bad news for the labor market. Everyone is now holding their breath for Friday’s official jobs report,” Swissquote Bank said. “That will determine whether we end the week with a sweet or sour taste in our mouths.”
ADP’s jobs report on Wednesday showed much lower than expected job growth in September.
There were slightly more applications for new unemployment benefits last week, it became apparent before the market opened on Thursday. The number of aid applications increased by 2,000 to 207,000, which was also roughly expected.
Oil prices limited their decline from earlier in the day. WTI oil for November was 0.5 percent lower at $83.84 and Brent oil was 0.4 percent cheaper at $85.45.
Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday after US gasoline inventories appeared to have risen despite a decline in crude oil inventories. In addition, Saudi Arabia announced that the production cut will in principle last until December, but this can still be deviated from.
The euro/dollar traded at 1.0514. When the American stock markets closed on Tuesday, the reading was 1.0510.
Company news
Amazon and Microsoft could face an investigation from competition authorities in the United Kingdom. Regulator Ofcom received signals that it would be difficult for customers to switch cloud providers and has now called in the British Competition Authority to investigate.
BlackBerry gained 2.8 percent before the market opened, after the company announced that it would split itself in two. The Internet-of-Things division will have a separate stock exchange listing, which could take place in the first half of the next financial year.
CostCo Wholesale reported comparable sales growth of 4.5 percent in September, year-over-year, which is better than August’s 4.3 percent. The share did not give a price reading before the stock exchange.
Rivian Automotive lost 9 percent before the market closed, after a 9 percent price gain was recorded on Wednesday. The company wants to raise more money, in the form of $1.5 billion in convertible bonds. Rivian is struggling to ramp up production and keep costs down.
Rival Tesla, which increased in value by 5.9 percent on Wednesday, seems to start slightly lower.
Constellation Brands, seller of beer brands Corona and Modelo, posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.70 last quarter, above the consensus estimate of $3.37, and raised its outlook. The stock looks set to open just under one percent lower.
ExxonMobil said on Wednesday that higher oil prices are likely to boost profits by $1 billion in the third quarter. The stock is expected to open 1 percent lower.
Final positions
Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to 4,263.75 points. Technology stock exchange Nasdaq rose 1.4 percent to 13,236.01 points and the Dow Jones index recorded a gain of 0.4 percent to 33,129.55 points.
Source: ABM Financial News
ABM Financial News is a supplier of stock market news, video and data, both for real-time trading platforms and dealing rooms and for online and offline media publications. The information in this article is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.