Futures point to a mixed open
Wall Street looks set to start the week mixed after the Labor Department released a disappointing non-farm payrolls report on Friday that showed the U.S. economy added just 266,000 jobs last month, well below economists’ forecast for an increase of 988,000 jobs.
The weak jobs report suggests that the Federal Reserve may maintain its loose monetary policy for even longer.
At a White House press briefing on Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the report “underscores the long-haul climb back to recovery,” and reiterated her expectation for a return to full employment in 2022.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were indicated 68 points, or 0.2% higher to 34,754. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gave away 33.37 points, or 0.24% to 13,676.38 while S&P 500 futures were little changed.
BioNtech, Novavax, Roblox earnings on tap
There is little data Monday to interest market players, who are keen on any clues to the U.S. economy after Friday’s disappointing jobs report.
The Investor Movement Index for April is released at 12:30 p.m. ET while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans is expected to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET.
On the earnings front, BioNtech (NASDAQ: BNTX), Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), Weibo (NASDAQ: WB), Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR), and Weibo (NASDAQ: WB) are all scheduled to publish their reports ahead of the opening bell.
Companies reporting after the market close include Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX), Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), Trex (NYSE: TREX), and Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE).
Crude futures rise as cyber-attack targets major U.S. pipeline
In energy markets, crude futures crept higher early Monday the Colonial Pipeline, which transports nearly half of the East Coast’s supply of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, was forced to shut down because of a cyber-attack.
Colonial Pipeline said in a statement that it took some systems offline, temporarily freezing pipeline operations and certain IT systems on Friday after discovering it was “the victim of a cybersecurity attack.”
The Transportation Department, meanwhile has issued a temporary waiver that enables crude products to be transported in tankers up to New York.
By 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 29 cents, or 0.45% to $65.19 a barrel. International Brent crude futures were at $68.56 a barrel, up 28 cents, or 0.41%.
