Softer Open Indicated to Start the New Month

The S&P 500 futures are down nine points and are trading 0.2% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 51 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 24 points and are trading 0.1% below fair value.

Pre-open trading has been somewhat mixed after stocks logged big gains in November. There is likely some hesitation in play in front of Fed Chair Powell’s discussion during a Fireside Chat at Spelman College today 11:00 a.m. ET. Recent gains have been partially predicated on the idea that the Fed will cut rates sooner rather than later, so market participants will be keenly focused on Mr. Powell’s tone today.  

Dow component Walt Disney (DIS) announced a cash dividend of $0.30/share in respect of the second half of fiscal year 2023 after suspending its dividend in the spring of 2020.

The 2-yr note yield down two basis points to 4.68% and the 10-yr note yield is down two basis points to 4.33%.

China’s Caixin Manufacturing PMI for November returned into expansion while Manufacturing PMI readings in Germany, France, Spain, and the U.K. all showed a slower pace of ongoing contraction. 

U.S. economic data today includes the final November S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET followed by the November ISM Manufacturing Index and October Construction Spending report at 10:00 a.m. ET

In other news, fighting resumed between Israel and Gaza, but discussions over another truce are said to continue, according to The New York Times. 

—

Originally Posted December 1, 2023 – Softer open indicated to start the new month