The DOW JONES index rises 0.26% to 46,365.17 points. Leading the increases is Merck & Co, with an increase of 1.86%, while Amazon rises 1.67%. Procter&Gamble fell 0.76% and Sherwin-Williams fell 0.50%.
The S&P 500 rose 0.60% to 6,642.59 points, while the Nasdaq rose 0.88% to 22,273.08 points.
Wall Street is coming off a bullish day last Friday, with the major indices buoyed by expectations of rate cuts in December put on the table by the president of the New York Federal Reserve, John Williams. However, the balance in the week and the month is negative: the S&P 500 fell 2% in the week and is down 3.5% so far in November, while the Nasdaq down 2.7% and 6.1%, respectively. The DOW JONES fell 1.9% on the week and fell 2.8% in November.
Investors need to keep in mind that this week will be shorter than usual on Wall Street, as On Thursday the market will be closed for Thanksgivingwhile on Friday (Black Friday) only half a session will be held.
This could cause less activity than usual on the rest of the days, making the final stretch of November even more difficult. With trading volume expected to decline in the coming days and significant catalysts in short supply ahead of the Fed’s December policy meeting, Volatility could pick up. «Investors hate noise. They crave certainty, and the market simply cannot provide it right now,» warns Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, in a note.
This Monday’s macroeconomic agenda is very limited, while tomorrow the US figures are scheduled to be published. retail sales of September, as well as production price index (PPI) of the same month, data that was not released at the time due to the closure of the federal government. In addition, on Wednesday the durable goods ordersalso from September, while the Fed will release its latest Beige Book of the year.
With these references, investors will try to refine expectations for the Fed’s monetary policy meeting on December 10. The operators give a 75.3% probability of an interest rate cut of 25 pointsaccording to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool, while the probability of them being maintained is 24.7%. Bets have turned in favor of a cut after last Friday the influential president of the New York Fed, John Williams, indicated that he saw “room for a new adjustment in the short term.”
Today the Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has agreed with this thesis by ensuring that the available data indicates that the labor market remains weak enough to justify another 25-point rate cut in December. For future appointments everything will depend on the next avalanche of data that will be published as statistical agencies catch up with work delayed by the recent government shutdown.
Waller has also pointed out that recently met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to continue discussing his possible appointment as Fed chair replacing Jerome Powell. “I think they are looking for someone who has merit, experience and knows what they do in the position, and I think I fit that,” he said.
In fixed income, always very sensitive to changes in monetary policy, the yield on the ten-year US bond drops to 4.043%.
In the business world, earnings season is practically coming to an end. Until last week, 472 S&P 500 companies had presented their accounts, with a average increase in earnings per share of 14.7%compared to the 8.5% expected before the publication of the first company, according to calculations by Bankinter analysts. The qualitative balance is as follows: 83% exceed expectations, 4% are in line and the remaining 13% disappoint. In the last quarter (2Q) earnings per share increased 13.3%, compared to the expected 5.8%.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Dell is scheduled to publish its results, as well as retailers Kohl’s and Best Buy.
Investors will also have to keep an eye on Pfizer’s price. The pharmaceutical company has managed to start a new stage after the end of the pandemic with the development of new drugs intended for cancer treatment and weight loss.
Apple is also a protagonist, after the Financial Times has published that The company is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO next year. Cook has led the company for 14 years, during which time the market capitalization has exceeded $4 trillion and annual revenue has reached almost half a trillion dollars.
Tesla shares rose 2.7% at the opening, after the CEO, Elon Musk, assured through his X account that the company is close to finalizing its latest artificial intelligence chip, the A15and that is starting to work on the A16.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street-listed shares of China’s Alibaba rise 4% after announcing that its artificial intelligence app, Qwen, has had ten million downloads in its first week of launch alone.
In analyst recommendations, the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co sees how Wells Fargo It improves the advice of ‘equal weight’ to ‘overweight‘. The firm anticipates that Merck will cover the shortfall generated by the expiration of Keytruda and points out that the company will enter a “period of great catalytic activity in the next 12-18 months.”
In commodity markets, oil prices are trying to stabilize after falling around 3% last week, as investors weigh the prospects of lower interest rates in the US against the prospect of a deal between Russia and Ukraine, which could release more Russian supply through an easing of sanctions. West Texas oil futures rose 0.42% to $58.03 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude fell 0.10% to $61.88.
The euro rose 0.16% against the dollar, leaving the exchange rate at 1.1531 dollars for each single currency.