Stocks poised to start the week slightly lower
Stock futures were trading marginally lower early Monday, suggesting Wall Street would kick off the week on a negative note as market participants digested U.S. jobs data and awaited the start of third-quarter corporate earnings season.
At around 5:00 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were marked 67 points, or 0.19% lower to 34,559.
S&P 500 futures dropped 13 points, or 0.30% to 4,369.25 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 57.25 points, or 0.39% to 14,751.
On Friday, data released by the U.S. Labor Department showed that the economy added 194,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate fell to an 18-month low of 4.9%.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected jobs to have increased by 485,000 and an unemployment rate of 5.1%.
Big banks to kick off earnings season
Meanwhile, the third-quarter earnings season is set to begin in earnest this week and extend into mid-November.
Big U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) kick off the season, with each scheduled to post results this week.
JPMorgan reports its results ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup report on Thursday. Goldman Sachs will publish its results on Friday morning.
Other notable earnings to watch this week include Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA), Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ: DPZ), and Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST).
Crude surges higher amid global energy crunch
In commodities, crude futures were trading in the green territory on Monday morning as a global energy crisis continues to grip major economies around the world.
As of 5:10 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.99, or 2.51% to $81.34 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were up $1.66, or 2.01% to $84.05 a barrel.
Crude prices have rocketed in recent weeks amid tight supplies from major producers and an increase in activity as the global economy reopens.
Covid19-related disruptions and carbon prices paid by coal and natural gas consumers in Europe have also contributed to the rally.
