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Briefing.com Summary: 

*Nasdaq lags amid concerns about flash memory competition from China.

*Initial Q3 earnings reports from banks generally better than expected.

*Treasuries show early strength after Columbus Day closure on Monday.

The stock market endured some pressure from technology and consumer discretionary stocks on Monday while other sectors had a much better showing. Investors will have to contend with a similar dynamic at the start of today's session, considering Nasdaq futures trade about 0.8% below fair value while futures on the S&P 500 are down just 0.1%. The Dow outperformed yesterday, logging a modest gain, and it is also on track for a higher start this morning.

Today's early underperformance in Nasdaq futures comes amid concerns that established chipmakers will face competition from China after it was reported that CXMT has made meaningful development progress in achieving the next milestone in chip architecture.

Looking past the latest hardware news, this morning also brought the release of several Q3 earnings reports. Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS) beat earnings and revenue expectations while Wells Fargo (WFC) came up short on the revenue side. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported a rare miss on earnings and revenue, but improved net interest income guidance made for a silver lining.

Investors will receive a few more earnings reports this week, before the Q3 reporting season picks up pace next week.

Yesterday's session took place without the Treasury market's participation due to a holiday closure in observance of Columbus Day. However today, Treasuries have gotten off to a strong start in longer tenors with the 10-yr yield falling four basis points to 5.20% while the 2-yr note underperforms, but its yield is still down a basis point, slipping to 4.78%.

The higher start in Treasuries follows a night that saw overall strength in sovereign debt, including France's OATs, but the French 50-yr has retreated, bucking the general trend amid persistent concerns about demand for French debt.

Elsewhere, crude oil has faced some early pressure that has it slipping back toward the unchanged mark for the week after President Trump repeated that the war with Iran will end soon and that energy prices will retreat once that conflict is over.