(Reuters) -U.S. stock indexes were set to open slightly higher on Friday as Treasury yields eased and investors looked ahead to quarterly results from Wall Street’s biggest companies.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped to 4.2% after rising as high as 4.26% earlier in the week.
The three major stock indexes, however, looked set to snap their six-week winning streak, with equities unsettled by the rapid rise in yields as rate cut bets unraveled on expectations of a stronger economic outlook.
“The upward move in yields has paused for a bit, allowing the stock market to catch its breath and focus on company earnings, which by and large have been pretty good,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s shares dipped 1.5% in premarket trading, following a nearly 22% surge in the previous session, as investors cheered the EV-maker’s strong sales forecast.
Gains in the stock helped the S&P 500 register its first daily advance of the week.
The week starting Oct. 28, the final stretch before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, promises to be crucial for Wall Street, marked by results from megacap tech firms including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well as the release of nonfarm payrolls data.
Shares of Apple dipped 0.6% on a brokerage downgrade and after data showed a decline in iPhone sales in China. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) rose 0.8%, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was up 0.7% and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 0.4%.
Dow E-minis were up 87 points, or 0.2%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 16.5 points, or 0.28% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 74 points, or 0.36%.
Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI) slumped 47.6% after a U.S. judge blocked a pending merger between the company and handbag maker Tapestry (NYSE:TPR). Shares of Tapestry rose 14.6%.
Regional lender New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB) dropped 11% after reporting its fourth straight quarter of loss, primarily due to its commercial real estate loans.
Memory-chip-maker Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)’s shares leapt 12% after it topped quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, while health insurer Centene (NYSE:CNC) advanced 12.2% after beating estimates for third-quarter profit.
A mixed set of earnings across sectors and continued uncertainty around the U.S. election have also made investors cautious, though markets have started pricing in a second Donald Trump administration in recent weeks.
“We’re so close to the election that it does feel like markets are in a bit of a holding pattern,” Mayfield said.
Data showed September Durable Goods orders slipped 0.8%, less than the 1% forecast.
The University of Michigan’s final Consumer Sentiment index is still on deck, while the Boston Fed’s Susan Collins is scheduled to speak on the day. [FED/DIARY]
Investors are still pricing in another 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s November meeting. They expect about two rate cuts by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.
Source: Economy - investing.com
