Morning Briefing
Published
S&P 500 futures point to a modest gain, up about 0.2%, as a historic wave of earnings overwhelms a Gulf conflict that has, for now, stopped moving oil prices. WTI settled 1.83% lower at $99.90 a barrel Monday even as Houthi forces claimed new strikes on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery and the Saudi Defense Ministry in Riyadh, with Saudi authorities confirming they intercepted two missiles aimed at the capital. CENTCOM continues to insist that US and partner forces, not Iran, control the Strait of Hormuz, and OPEC+ is expected to hold output steady at its weekend meeting, a combination that appears to be keeping crude anchored for now.
Diplomacy is running on two tracks. Qatari mediators handed Iran a new draft deal in Tehran on Sunday, with a response expected by the end of this week, while Iran's foreign minister warned that any Israel-instigated military action in the Gulf would be "devastating" for markets. On Ukraine, Russia struck overnight with 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones according to President Zelenskiy, even as the Kremlin says US-Russia-Ukraine talks resume in Abu Dhabi in November and reports describe discussions spanning Russian diesel sales, Sakhalin energy cooperation and a possible Nord Stream revival. In Israel, the election remains unresolved, with Netanyahu's bloc holding a narrow lead of 54 to 49 seats with 77% counted.
Technology leads premarket sector moves on semiconductor strength, with chip equipment and memory names outperforming while financials, consumer staples and health care lag. Robinhood is the standout financials decliner after its print, and Enphase Energy and F5 are among the sharpest losers in tech despite the sector's overall gain.
Company News
- Advanced Micro Devices rallies premarket after announcing a strategic partnership with Meta Platforms to power its superintelligence infrastructure, including a $1 billion investment in Meta's equity offering.
- Boeing fell sharply Monday after cutting its delivery goal, while Vertiv, GE Vernova, Teradyne, Garmin, Masco and Phillips 66 all raised guidance; Xylem, Smurfit Westrock and Lennox International cut or narrowed outlooks.
- GE Vernova agrees to acquire Trench Group for $9 billion.
- General Motors confirmed it will move its listing from the NYSE to Nasdaq effective November 17, keeping its "GM" ticker.
- Visa reported Q4 EPS of $3.48, slightly below expectations, and raised its quarterly dividend 16% to $0.780 per share.
- Two Sigma's founders are reportedly exploring a stake sale to resolve a long-running governance standoff at the roughly $85 billion hedge fund.
- Intel agrees to buy quantum startup Classiq for about $2.3 billion.
- NXP Semiconductors, CoStar Group and Universal Health Services are among the session's sharpest premarket decliners, down 6-7%, alongside continued weakness in Enphase Energy.
Overseas Data
Australia's third-quarter CPI rose 1.3% quarter on quarter, above the 1.2% forecast, with year-on-year readings running between 3.9% and 4.3% depending on the measure. The RBA's trimmed mean CPI rose 1.0% quarter on quarter, in line with forecast, and 3.7% year on year, above the 3.6% expected.
In Europe, France's jobseeker count rose to 3,353,400 in the third quarter from 3,323,000 previously. Switzerland's UBS survey expectations gauge for October collapsed to -15.3 from 2.6 in September.
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