US index futures are up 0.5% this morning with investors responding favorably to positive earnings reports from several senior US companies. Over in Europe, the FTSE and Dax are both up about 0.1%. Metals are having a good day today with platinum up 1.7%, silver up 3.0%, while copper and gold are both up 0.9%. Energy contracts are mixed again with WTI crude oil up 1.0% and natural gas down 1.6%.
In earnings news today, Dow stocks Johnson & Johnson ($2.60 vs street $2.35), Travelers ($2.60 vs street $1.67), and Proctor & Gamble ($1.61 vs street $1.59) all beat expectations. Travelers is up about 3.0% premarket on its news while P&G is down 1.8% after its management indicated that raw material and transportation costs are increasing, a sign that inflation is starting to take its toll on some companies.
Canadian earnings season kicks off later today with the two big railroads reporting, CN due tonight and CP due tomorrow. Investors may look to these reports for indications of the supply chain situation in Canada, the impact of rising fuel, raw material and wage inflation, the fallout from their Kansas City Southern takeover battle. Also, investors may look to CN for a response to recent comments from an activity investor pushing for cost cutting and operational improvements.
In the US, Netflix and United Airlines are due to report results after the close. Overnight tonight, the People’s Bank of China is meeting with investors looking for indications of whether it may need to increase stimulus to deal with the impact of financial problems at Evergrande and other real estate companies.
SIA Wealth Special Event Webinar Tuesday October 19th, 2:00 pm EDT
Please join us on Tuesday Oct.19@ 12pm MT / 2pm ET for our special Market Outlook Webinar with Ted Bader – President. He will deliver our latest presentation titled: “Uncharted Waters: Signs of a coming storm”.
Register for webinar: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1277880312948541455
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. A replay will be available and sent to all registrants after the webinar with the presentation included.
