Monday brings bank earnings and a Mideast-driven oil premium into view
US stock futures are little changed pre-market Monday as Wall Street heads into bank earnings and CPI week, with oil holding an elevated risk premium tied to Middle East tensions.
US equity markets are open for regular trading on Monday despite the Columbus Day holiday, though the bond market is closed and federal offices are shut, which tends to thin Treasury-linked trading, according to Kiplinger’s holiday schedule and a market note from InvestingLive. Index futures were little changed in early trading: Dow futures were up about 0.08% (roughly 42 points), S&P 500 futures were up about 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down about 0.05%, per a Reuters-sourced snapshot cited by the Sunday Guardian. That follows a Friday session in which the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed higher, with the S&P 500 finishing near 7,811 (roughly +0.6%) and the Nasdaq near 27,366, capping a week in which the S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched record highs, according to Yahoo Finance and the Washington Post’s market wrap.
Overseas, Asian trading was mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose about 0.2% to roughly 24,271, while the Shanghai Composite slipped about 0.4% to around 3,797, according to RTHK; Japan’s market was shut for a holiday. In Europe, the FTSE 100 extended its advance toward roughly 10,615 in a session led by bank shares, alongside easing oil prices, per the Sunday Guardian’s UK markets report. Oil remained the dominant overnight talking point: Brent crude was holding above $100 a barrel, trading in the $103–104 range according to a Commerzbank note cited by FXStreet, with a risk premium tied to Houthi strikes on Saudi energy and transport infrastructure and continued uncertainty around flows through the Strait of Hormuz; a separate Zeebiz report described Brent easing roughly 1.5% from a recent two-week high as expectations grew for additional Russian diesel supply.
Looking ahead, the week’s main catalysts are corporate and macro. Six large banks — JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) — are set to report third-quarter results before Tuesday’s open, kicking off earnings season, per preview coverage from Benzinga. On the data side, the September Consumer Price Index is due Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, with producer prices and retail sales following Thursday and import/export prices Friday, according to a BLS-sourced release calendar. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for October 27–28.
What to watch today
- Six large banks — JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) — report third-quarter results before Tuesday’s open. (Benzinga)
- Brent crude is trading in roughly the $103-104 range, holding an elevated risk premium tied to Houthi strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure and Strait of Hormuz uncertainty. (FXStreet/Commerzbank)
- The bond market and federal offices are closed today for the Columbus Day holiday, while stock exchanges trade a normal session. (Kiplinger)
- September CPI is scheduled for release Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by producer prices and retail sales Thursday. (BLS release calendar)
- The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is set for October 27-28. (Federal Reserve calendar)