Markets rise to start a week packed with inflation updates and retail earnings

Pre-market trading is relatively calm ahead of the launch of the new inflation data and the start of earnings season for some of the world’s biggest retailers.

Futures for S&The OP 500 and the Nasdaq were up more than 0.3% before the bell, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained about 0.2%.

Key Corp. jumped more than 20% after the regional bank announced a $2.8 billion investment from Bank of Nova Scotia. The Cleveland-based bank said the cash influx will allow it to further drive growth in its investment banking and wealth management businesses.

New data on US consumer and wholesale inflation will be released this week, along with more information on the performance of US retailers last month. Walmart and Home Depot kick off earnings season for retailers, with the latter releasing second-quarter results on Tuesday.

Retailers have largely exceeded performance expectations this year, but there are signs that millions of Americans are holding back. spending after a long period of inflation. Still, economists believe there is some growth in sales after stopped in June.

The US releases producer-level inflation numbers on Tuesday, prices before they reach the consumer, and publishes consumer inflation numbers on Wednesday.

Inflation has been the main economic concern more than two years ago, but price gains have returned to more reasonable levels and most economists, as well as investors, expect the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates next month, barring any major surprises this week. The Fed raised rates starting in March 2022 in an effort to curb inflation, which began to rise as the economy recovered from a pandemic-induced recession.

Concerns remain with the strength of the US economy. That dragged Treasury yields lower on Friday as investors looked for safer places for their money and expectations grew for deeper interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year Treasury yield stabilized on Monday at 3.95% after falling to 3.94% from 3.99% on Friday.

“Market prices suggest that traders remain nervous about the ongoing assessment of policy rates, and last week’s volatility perhaps serves as a warning that we may be just one or two negative signs away from more turmoil,” Benjamin said. Picton, senior market strategist at Rabobank, in a report.

Last week started with a shock, with markets hit by sharp sell-offs triggered by concerns about whether the US economy could be slowing too quickly. Japanese stocks resisted worst percentage loss since Black Monday 1987. But it ended more calmly, after more big U.S. companies joined those that reported better spring profits than analysts had expected.

“The recent string of stronger-than-expected US economic data has helped weather recession concerns, with rate expectations now suggesting that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may maintain more flexibility in its easing process. of policy compared to that being forced by higher economic risks,” IG’s Yeap Jun Rong said in a commentary.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX was up 0.2%, London’s FTSE was up 0.4%, while the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%.

In Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 17,111.65 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.1% to 2,858.20.

Markets in Tokyo and Bangkok were closed for public holidays.

In Seoul, the Kospi jumped 1.2% to 2,618.30, with shares of Samsung Electronics rising 1.1%, tracking the advances of big technology companies late last week. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.4%, while computer chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 0.6% and electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Electronics, also known as Foxconn, rose 4.5%.

S of Australia&OP/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,813.70.

In other trading Monday morning, benchmark U.S. crude oil rebounded, gaining 82 cents to $77.66 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 69 cents to $80.35 per barrel.

The US dollar rose to 147.59 Japanese yen from 146.63 yen. The euro rose to $1.0923 from $1.0919.

On Friday, S.&P500 rose 0.5%, leaving its best day since 2022 and reducing its loss after the week’s strong rally to less than 0.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5%, ending a busy week.