US index futures are pointing toward a positive open today with gains of 0.2% for Dow Futures and 0.5% for NASDAQ futures. While encouraging, US indices still have a way to go to claw back yesterday’s losses of 1.5% for the Dow and 2.5% for the NASDAQ. European markets are also in the green this morning with the FTSE and Dax both up about 0.5%. Copper is also bouncing back today with a 1.9% gain, while WTI crude oil continues to climb with another 0.6% rise.
Today’s rebound comes in the face of continued inflation and interest rate issues. The US 10-year treasury note yield is holding near 1.85% after touching 1.90% overnight. Inflation pressures remain high. Canadian core consumer prices (4.0% vs street 3.5%) indicated inflation pressures continue to increase. UK consumer prices also increased more than expected (5.4% vs street 5.2% and previous 5.1%). US housing starts (1.70M vs street 1.65M) beat expectations, offsetting the Canadian housing starts announced earlier this week.
A number of positive earnings reports from senior US companies across a number of sectors this morning appears to be helping shore up investor confidence. Highlights include: UnitedHealth ($4.48 vs street $4.31), Proctor & Gamble ($1.66 vs street $1.65, increased low end of sales growth forecast), Bank of America ($0.82 vs street $0.76), and Morgan Stanley* ($2.01 vs street $1.91). Later today, results are due from United Airlines and Prologis REIT.
*Shares of Morgan Stanley are held in portfolios managed by SIA Wealth Management.
New Video: SIA Wealth January Webinar Replay
A replay of the SIA Wealth Market Outlook Webinar with Colin Cieszynski – Chief Market Strategist, Paul Vendrinsky and Kyle Wilson – Portfolio Managers, answering questions related to market/sector index composition and performance plus an update on SIA Wealth managed portfolios is now available.
YouTube Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8kEdnAwuA0
