Stocks hovered near their all-time highs as traders looked ahead to the start of the earnings season and inflation data that will be key in shaping the Federal Reserve outlook.
With Corporate America navigating one of the strongest profit cycles in recent history, equities have defied concerns about elevated energy costs and bond yields. In fact, Brent crude rose to around $107 on Monday. Treasury cash trading is closed for Columbus Day.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists are turning positive on global stocks for the short term. Equity prices are less demanding after higher oil prices and bond yields stalled the rally, while the outlook for profits is still healthy, the team led by Christian Mueller-Glissmann wrote in a note.
“Earnings growth remains supportive for equities and the recent valuation de-rating has improved asymmetry into the third-quarter earnings season,” the strategists said.
Corporate Highlights:
- Microsoft Corp. is gearing up to install the latest version of its own chips in data centers, with the aim of powering its AI software using mostly homegrown hardware.
- Adobe Inc. fell after Wells Fargo Securities downgraded the maker of software for creative professionals by two notches, to underweight from overweight.
- Salesforce Inc. rose after Bank of America Corp. raised the recommendation on the software company to buy from underperform, pointing to tailwinds from AI adoption.
- Starbucks Corp. · said in a statement that it’s not buying Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
- Bristol Myers Squibb Co. · ’s experimental drugs for treating a rare endocrine cancer and a deadly form of lung disease succeeded in late-stage studies, boosting the pharmaceutical company’s new product pipeline.
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Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:31 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%
- The MSCI World Index rose 0.1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1179
- The British pound was little changed at $1.3233
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 158.62 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $82,421.15
- Ether fell 0.6% to $2,521.6
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 5.24%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.48%
- Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 5.45%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.2% to $93.83 a barrel
- Spot gold fell 0.5% to $4,174.11 an ounce