U.S. index futures show a slight decline in Monday’s pre-market. This scenario is a response to the recent increase in U.S. interest rates, the drop in oil prices, and unfavorable economic indicators from China influencing market movements.
As of 05:59 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell 28 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 futures declined by 0.08% and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.07%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was at 4.466%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude for January fell 1.71%, to $74.25 per barrel. Brent crude for January decreased by 1.63%, near $79.27 per barrel. Iron ore with a 62% concentration, traded on the Dalian exchange, rose 0.36%, priced at $136.93 per ton.
On the economic agenda this Friday, investors await, at 10:00 AM, the Census Bureau’s report on new home sales. It’s expected that sales of newly constructed single-family homes will fall to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 700,000 in October, from 759,000 in September. The Dallas Fed will release its November manufacturing index at 10:30 AM. At 11:00 AM, the government will hold an auction for two-year Treasuries, and at 13:00 PM, a five-year Treasury auction will take place.
U.S. retail sales on Black Friday increased by 2.5% from the previous year, excluding the automotive sector, as reported by Mastercard SpendingPulse. While online sales grew by 8.5%, in-store sales increased by 1.1%. American shoppers spent $9.8 billion online, aligning with Adobe Analytics’ forecasts.
In Europe, with a light agenda, agents await a speech at 09:00 AM by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), at the European Parliament.
Asian markets closed lower, influenced by concerns about the Chinese economy, which showed its weakness with a 7.8% drop in industrial profits in October. In China, the Beijing Stock Exchange, established two years ago to support small businesses, adopted a new policy prohibiting major shareholders of listed companies from selling their shares. Meanwhile, in Japan, the president of the Central Bank, Kazuo Ueda, stated that the institution is not sure of sustainably and stably achieving the 2% inflation target.
U.S. stocks had a weak performance on Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reaching their best closing levels in three months. The Dow rose 0.33% and the S&P 500 advanced 0.06%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.11%. Sectors such as airlines and tobacco saw gains, while the computer hardware market experienced losses.
Investors will be watching Monday’s corporate earnings reports from Cerence (NASDAQ:CRNC), Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) before the market opens. After the close, reports from Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS), Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL), Grupo Supervielle (NYSE:SUPV), among others, will be observed.
This week, Zscaler and Crowdstrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) are expected to highlight the focus on cybersecurity following recent corporate attacks. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) are expected to report slower sales growth due to reduced corporate IT spending. Other results, such as those from Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) and Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), will also reflect the trend of reduced business and consumer spending. Canadian banks’ profits will show the impact of higher interest rates and a weaker economy, with weak loan demand and slowing bank deposit growth.
Wall Street Corporate Highlights for Today
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) – On Cyber Monday, record spending of $12 billion is expected, up 5.4% from last year. Retailers like Amazon and Walmart offered significant discounts, with expectations of mobile purchases surpassing desktop for the first time. Late shopping may boost additional sales.
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) – Alibaba Group has closed its quantum computing research lab, signaling a possible continuation of cuts to improve financial results. The company will donate equipment to Zhejiang University, and about 30 employees may lose their jobs. The decision comes amid a reform led by Joseph Tsai and Eddie Wu, raising speculation about additional changes at the company. Additionally, Jack Ma sparked speculation about his next ventures by founding “Hangzhou Ma’s Kitchen Food,” a packaged agricultural products company with an initial capital of $1.4 million. Since his step back following the government crackdown in 2020, Ma has devoted himself to agricultural and educational activities.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) – Disney’s “Wish” failed at the holiday box office, ranking third with $19.5 million, behind Lions Gate’s “Hunger Games” and Sony’s “Napoleon.” This marks a decline for Disney, which previously dominated this season.
EQT AB (NYSE:EQT) – Swedish EQT AB acquired a majority stake in Japanese HR software startup HRBrain Inc. Founder Hiroki Hori will retain a significant stake. Financial details were not disclosed. EQT seeks to boost young companies in Japan, aiming for more similar deals.
HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) – HSBC customers in the UK reported issues accessing mobile and online banking services on Friday, with over 4,000 complaints at the peak. The bank confirmed the outage, attributed to an internal problem, during one of the busiest shopping days.
UBS (NYSE:UBS) – UBS Asset Management is focusing on improving its existing infrastructure investments due to the weak trading environment. They are upgrading wind parks in Texas and fiber networks in France and Germany. The company is targeting companies involved in the energy transition and digitalization.
Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) – Deutsche Bank’s asset manager DWS hired Dan Robinson to lead alternative credit in EMEA, targeting growth in private credit. This is part of the company’s expansion strategy in alternatives and partnerships with regional German banks.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold its stake in India’s Paytm for approximately $164.70 million through a bulk deal. BH International Holdings offloaded over 15.6 million shares of the digital payments company at an average price of 877.29 rupees per share. The sale follows stake reductions by SoftBank (TG:SFTA) and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), with the buyer of Paytm’s shares still unknown.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG) – Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group CEO Jun Ohta passed away on November 25 at 65 due to pancreatic cancer. Japan’s second-largest bank will soon announce a successor, with Vice President Toru Nakashima temporarily taking over. Ohta, who led SMFG since April 2019, was also vice-chairman of Keidanren and sought international expansion in partnership with Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF).
Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) – Lloyds Bank, the UK’s largest high street bank, may cut about 2,500 jobs in a restructuring, aiming to reduce costs. The move includes consultations with several employees, with plans to create 120 new positions, according to a source familiar.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Elon Musk will visit Israel to meet with political leaders and discuss online anti-Semitism, following controversies at X. He will also explore the Starlink project to support communications during war. Additionally, tension between Swedish unions and Tesla escalated with Hydro Extrusions supporting the demand for a collective work agreement for Tesla’s mechanics in Sweden. About 50 Hydro workers stopped, aiming to pressure Tesla to negotiate. Elsewhere, Tesla plans to invest up to $2 billion to establish a factory in India, conditional on reducing import taxes to 15% for the first two years, according to the Economic Times. Tesla is willing to invest $500 million for 12,000 vehicles and up to $2 billion for 30,000, awaiting government approval.
Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) – Toyota has the largest gap between its corporate guidance and analysts’ average net income projection for the fiscal year on the Topix index. This reflects optimistic expectations due to the weak yen. Other companies also have profit forecasts above analysts’ estimates, but Toyota leads this trend. The automaker raised its profit outlook, driven by the weak yen and better raw material prices, but still fell short of analysts’ average projections. Analysts believe Toyota issues conservative forecasts and is already ahead of its production plans.
Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) – The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, initially backed by Philip Morris International, will reject future funding from the nicotine industry to gain credibility in tobacco control, as stated by the CEO. The foundation, established in 2017 with financial commitment from PMI, seeks new funders, rebranding its image and identity.