FOMC meeting, Jobs report, earnings in focus this week
Stock futures were pointing to a green start for Wall Street on Monday after all three major indices notched a fourth-straight week of gains.
As of 6:10 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow Jones advanced 158 points, or 0.44% to 35,862. S&P 500 futures jumped 19 points, or 0.41% to 4,616 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 55 points, or 0.35% to 15,893.50.
This week, traders will have a chance to take a look at the US jobs report for October, which is scheduled for release on Friday.
Federal Reserve policymakers are also set to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, where they are expected to announce that they will begin to scale down the central bank’s $120 billion bond-buying program and end it completely by mid-2022.
On the earnings front, some of the major companies reporting this week include Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA).
Coke reportedly pays $5.6 billion for full control of BodyArmor
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is paying $5.6 billion to buy full control of sports-drink maker BodyArmor, according to the Wall Street Journal. Coke had already acquired a 30% stake in BodyArmor in 2018.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Journal that the deal for the remaining 70% has a price tag of $5.6 billion, valuing BodyArmor at $8 billion. The deal is likely to be announced as soon as today, according to the Journal.
As per the sources, the estate of the late former NBA star Kobe Bryant who was an early BodyArmor investor will reportedly receive $400 million from the deal.
The products that BodyArmor makes include caffeinated sports drinks, sports drinks, and alkaline water, and none of them has artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors.
Crude futures rise ahead of OPEC+ meeting
In energy markets, crude futures jumped on Monday morning amid expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, will not raise production too fast.
Traders are hoping that when the group meets later this week, members will stick to their gradual, monthly production hikes of 400,000 barrels per day implemented last year.
However, some heavy crude consumers like the U.S. and India have been pressuring the cartel to hike production to help bring prices down as demand has recovered quicker than expected in some economies.
As of 6:10 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 51 cents, or 0.61% to $84.08 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures advanced 82 cents, or 0.98% to $84.54 a barrel.
