Stock market today: Wall Street ticks lower ahead of corporate, jobs and consumer confidence data
Wall Street was trading modestly lower before markets opened on Tuesday, with a full slate of corporate earnings on the way, as well as new ones job data and American consumer confidence.
Future for the S&The P 500 fell less than 0.1% before the bell, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%.
Shares of McDonald’s fell 2.3% despite beating Wall Street revenue and profit targets $5 meals helped entice inflation-weary customers. It remains to be seen how a recent E. coli outbreak will impact the burger chain’s revenue in the current quarter. McDonald’s had to remove Quarter Pounders from the menu at 900 stores after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that the burger’s shaved raw onions were likely the cause of E. coli contamination. The outbreak has killed one person and sickened at least 75 others in 13 states.
DR Horton fell 9.6%, dragging other homebuilders with it after fourth-quarter sales and profits fell and fell short of industry analyst expectations.
Ford fell 5.5% overnight after the automaker reported a decline big drop in profits late Monday, as a sum of $1 billion was needed for a canceled three-row electric SUV. Ford’s net profit fell 26% and the company lowered its full-year profit forecast.
Shares of shoe maker Crocs fell more than 10%, with disappointing expectations overshadowing a very strong quarter.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. rose 20% early Tuesday, with a week to go before Election Day.
Google parent company Alphabet will announce its latest quarterly results after the bell on Tuesday.
Reports on September vacancies and consumer confidence will also be released on Tuesday. The latest layoffs data will be released Thursday, followed a day later by October’s crucial jobs report — the final monthly report before the 2024 presidential election.
In Europe, the French CAC 40 gained 0.4% around midday, while the German DAX rose almost 0.3%. The British FTSE 100 remained unchanged.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to end at 38,903.68. The Australian S&The P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,249.20. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,617.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% to 20,701.14, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.1% to 3,286.41.
In Japan, the government reported that unemployment stood at 2.4% last month, an improvement of 0.1 percentage point, and the second straight month of recovery. The continued weak yen is helping to keep Japanese equities buoyant.
The US dollar rose from 153.23 yen to 153.67 Japanese yen. The euro cost $1.0799, down from $1.0817.
The supply of energy producers is under pressure and is falling in parallel with oil and gas prices. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 87 cents to $68.25 a barrel one day after the worst sell-off in two years. Brent crude, the international standard, added 84 cents to $71.84 a barrel.
On Monday, U.S. crude and Brent crude each fell 6.1%, the first trading since Israel attacked Iranian military targets last weekend in retaliation for an earlier barrage of ballistic missiles. Israel did not target the country’s energy infrastructure as feared.
Concerns about a possible attack on the oil fields of the world’s seventh-largest crude producer had pushed the price of Brent crude oil to almost $81 a barrel in early October, despite signals that there is enough oil available for the global economy. It has since fallen back below $72.
Financial markets are also dealing with the volatility that usually accompanies US presidential elections, with Election Day just a week away. Markets have historically been shaky heading into elections calm down afterwards, regardless of which side wins.