Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Oct. 12, 2023. According to the source NYSE, stock futures were slightly lower early Friday as traders sifted through major bank earnings. S&P 500 futures edged down 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures made minor gains. Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 0.4%.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo commenced third-quarter earnings for major financial firms on Friday. Following the release of its latest results, shares of JPMorgan Chase remained unchanged. However, Wells Fargo saw a premarket rise of 2.5%. Additionally, Citigroup is due to report later in the day.
In addition to concerns over disappointing earnings and another potential rate hike, investors have turned their attention to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The conflict could potentially pose a threat to global oil supply and prices. However, Nancy Tengler, chief investment officer at Laffer Tengler Investments, believes that investors may be unnecessarily anxious.
“We’ll have some companies that will disappoint but I think for the most part, earnings are probably going to surprise investors to the upside,” Tengler said in an interview with CNBC. “Investors are too pessimistic. We expect that companies are going to be able to manage this pretty well.”
Tengler added that she believes stocks will end the year with a rally, primarily driven by the technology and industrials sectors.
In addition to corporate earnings, traders will also be keeping an eye on preliminary consumer sentiment data for October, which is set to be released on Friday.
Despite Thursday’s losses in the major indexes, with the Dow dropping over 173 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both declining by 0.6%, the three indexes are on track for weekly gains. The S&P 500 has risen 0.9% for the week, while the Dow has seen an increase of nearly 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite has been the strongest performer, with a 1% gain through Thursday’s close.
If the Nasdaq Composite continues its positive trajectory, it will mark the third consecutive week of gains, while the S&P 500 will enjoy its second straight positive week. The Dow, on the other hand, is set to break a streak of three consecutive weekly declines.
Thursday’s losses came after the release of the latest consumer price index (CPI) report, which indicated that inflation remains stubbornly high, leading to higher bond yields. CPI rose 0.4% in September and recorded a 3.7% increase from the previous year.
As traders navigate through these developments, the market remains uncertain, but many are hopeful that earnings will exceed expectations and contribute to a positive end to the year.