Thursday October 6th

U.S. stock markets index futures were little changed Thursday, as a massive rally to start the month eased, with rates ticking higher once again. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 28 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures hovered below the flat line, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%. The benchmark 10-year rate climbed more than 1 basis point to 3.773%. The 2-year yield, which is more sensitive to monetary policy changes, rose 2 basis points to 4.14%. Wall Street started the week on a high note, with the S&P 500 staging its biggest two-day rally since 2020. Stocks fought to keep the winning streak going Wednesday but ultimately fell short. The Dow closed about 42 points lower, or 0.14%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.20% and 0.25%, respectively. “Few are convinced that the recent move is more than a bear market rally, with skepticism over the durability,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “Confidence remains weak, ranging from CEOs, small businesses, consumers, and investors. Universal pessimism is bullish from a contrarian perspective, though timing of the pendulum swing is difficult to predict.” Investors continue to monitor economic data to see if inflation is cooling off, or if the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes are pushing the U.S. closer to a recession. Data from ADP showed that the labor market remained strong among private companies in September, when businesses added 208,000 jobs. That beat the 200,000 job estimate from Dow Jones. On Friday, the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be released, giving the central bank and investors another piece of data. Some companies are reporting earnings, as well. On Thursday, Constellation Brands will announce its results before the opening bell, and Levi Strauss will report after the market closes. Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Thursday after Wall Street’s two-day rally fizzled and OPEC+ agreed to cut 2 million barrels per day to shore up prices. Oil futures were slightly up during Asia’s session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% to 27,311.30, while the Topix added 0.5% to 1,922.47. The Kospi in South Korea rose 1.02% to 2,237.86 and the Kosdaq was 3.02% higher at 706.1. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed about flat at 6,817.50. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.38% in the final hour of trade after surging around 6% on Wednesday. Mainland China markets are closed for a holiday this week. Oil prices held near three-week highs on Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to tighten global crude supply with a deal to cut production targets by 2 million barrel per day (bpd), the largest reduction since 2020. Brent crude futures edged down 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $93.09 per barrel after settling 1.7% up in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $87.43 after closing 1.4% up on Wednesday. Gold prices were little changed on Thursday, with gains curbed by an uptick in the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields while investors held back from making large bets ahead of U.S. jobs data. Spot gold was steady at $1,714 per ounce. U.S. gold futures edged 0.16% higher to $1,723.50. The dollar index rose 0.3% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields also crept higher.