Wall Street Set to Open Higher as Treasury Yields Retreat; Strong Earnings in Focus
Wall Street’s main indexes are poised for a higher open today as the selloff in U.S. Treasuries eases. General Electric and Coca-Cola shares surge on upbeat forecasts.
General Electric jumps 5.9% in premarket trading after the aircraft engine manufacturer lifts its full-year profit forecast. Coca-Cola also advances 2.8% after raising its annual sales outlook. General Motors adds 1.3% after beating third-quarter profit estimates, while 3M gains 4.5% after raising its full-year adjusted profit forecast.
The 10-year Treasury note yield is now at 4.8504%, retracting from breaching the 5% mark in the previous session. This shift in the bond market comes as Bill Ackman, head at Pershing Square, closes his bearish position on U.S. bonds. His successful track record in predicting market trends adds weight to the impact of rising interest rates on the economy.
Today, megacaps including Apple, Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Amazon.com rise between 0.2% and 2.4%. This surge in tech giants’ stocks is expected as they report their strongest quarterly revenue growth in at least a year. Microsoft and Alphabet are scheduled to release their results after markets close today.
Among the companies that have reported earnings so far, 78% have exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to LSEG data. Third-quarter earnings are projected to rise 1.2% year-on-year. The benchmark index has fallen from its July highs due to concerns that the Federal Reserve might maintain its restrictive monetary policy for longer than expected. However, the index is still up nearly 10% year-to-date as of the previous close.
Investors will closely monitor the S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services to assess the strength of the American economy. The Commerce Department will also announce third-quarter GDP on Thursday, which is predicted to accelerate to 4.3%. Furthermore, the wide-ranging Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report is due on Friday.
Amid these market developments, the turmoil in the Middle East is also in focus as Israel intensifies its assault on Hamas in Gaza.
At 8:37 a.m. ET, Dow Jones futures are up 164 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 futures are up 24.75 points, or 0.58%, and Nasdaq futures are up 87.5 points, or 0.59%.
In other news, Nvidia rises 1.4% after reports that the chip giant has quietly begun designing central processing units (CPUs) running Microsoft’s Windows operating system, incorporating technology from Arm Holdings. Arm’s stock is up 2.4%, while Intel is down 0.4%.
Verizon adds 4.1% after the U.S. wireless carrier raises its annual free cash flow forecast. Meanwhile, Coinbase, Riot Platforms, and Marathon Digital experience notable gains of 8.4% to 14.7% as the crypto market surges to a more than one-year high.
