Stock Futures Flat as Investors Brace for Big Tech Earnings and Fed Decision

U.S. stock futures are relatively flat in premarket trading as investors gear up for the busiest week of earnings this quarter. The moves come after weakness on Friday as oil prices rallied as geopolitical risks remained elevated. 

Crude futures are reversing lower this morning near $101 a barrel and supporting equities. 

Earnings are due this week from about a third of the S&P 500, including results from tech heavyweights Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN). Economic data also picks up this week with Durable Goods, Personal Income and Outlays and the first read on Q3 GDP due. 

The FOMC decision is due on Wednesday afternoon with the CME FedWatch tool suggesting a 90% likelihood that policy makers will hold interest rates at the current target range of 3.75% to 4%. 

Snapshot

·   Oil (/CL) – Oil futures are down 2.2% to $101.00 per barrel

·   Gold (/GC) – Gold futures are up 0.43% to $4,024.80 per ounce

·   Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency futures are down 1.27% to $80,170

·   VIX (/VIX) – The CBOE Volatility Index is up 1.13% to 19.67

·   U.S. Dollar ($DXY) – The dollar index is flat on the session at 101.878

Big Premarket Movers

Advancers:

·   Ross Stores (ROST) +3.59%

·   MGM Resorts (MGM) +2.39%

·   Franklin Templeton (BEN) +2.38%

·   Tesla (TSLA) +1.93%

·   Gartner (IT) +1.75%

Decliners:

·   Fair Isaac (FICO) -9.36%

·   Moderna (MRNA) -8.17%

·   EQT Corp (EQT) -4.35%

·   Equifax (EFX) -3.52%

·   Baxter International (BAX) -2.81%

Economic Data (ET)

·   8:30 AM: Chicago Fed National Activity (Sep)

·   10:30 AM: Dallas Fed Mfg Business Index (Oct)

·   1:00 PM: 2-Year Note Auction

Notable Earnings

·   Premarket: CX, VZ

·   Postmarket: AMKR, BRO, CDNS, CLS, GBX, HIG, NE, NUE, PFG, PSA, PSMT, RMBS, VLRS, WELL

·   Premarket Tuesday: AIT, AMT, AWI, BA, CMS, CNC, FCX, GLW, GLXY, HCA, HLT, HRI, IQV, JBLU, JCI, KO, NVS, PCAR, PII, PNR, PYPL, RCL, RGEN, SHW, SOFI, SPGI, TNL, TRU, UPS, XYL

·   Postmarket Tuesday: BBAI, BKR, CAKE, CR, CSGP, CZR, ENPH, EQT, EXE, FFIV, ICLR, LOGI, LSTR, LU, NBR, NOV, NXPI, OI, PPG, RNR, RRC, SKHY, ST, STX, TER, UHS, V, VTR, WERN, WM, WPC

Upgrades/Downgrades

Upgrades:

·   Morgan Stanley upgrades Lockheed Martin (LMT) from Equal Weight to Overweight

·   Barclays upgrades Tesla (TSLA) from Equal Weight to Overweight

·   TD Cowen upgrades Booz Allen (BAH) from Hold to Buy

Downgrades:

·   Morgan Stanley downgrades Block (XYZ) from Overweight to Equal Weight

·   Phillip Securities downgrades Spotify (SPOT) from Buy to Accumulate

·   RBC Capital downgrades Equifax (EFX) from Outperform to Sector Perform

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