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Briefing.com Summary:
*This week will be a big week for earnings reports, but they aren't the focal point today.
*Oil prices have been volatile, along with the headlines germane to their movement.
*The buy-the-dip crowd is congregating among the semiconductor stocks.
In terms of known events, this week is going to be dominated by earnings news. Currently, though, there are other matters painting the tape (mostly green).
There are reports that mediators are working to bring an end to the military strikes between the U.S. and Iran as part of an effort to get both sides to return to their memorandum of understanding for a ceasefire. Those reports have reset the temperature for oil prices to simmer from boiling.
Earlier, WTI crude futures moved above $85.00/bbl, while Brent crude futures exceeded $91.00/bbl. They are now at $82.60/bbl and $88.57/bbl, respectively, contending with a potential spoiler report from Bloomberg that the Houthis will attempt to impose a maritime blockade for Saudi Arabia.
It's all—as they say—a "fluid situation," but for now, the stock market is attempting to see the light in these reports. Hence, it is giving itself some room to embrace buy-the-dip efforts following last week's losses.
You can imagine where those efforts are concentrated. Enter the semiconductor stocks, which, collectively, had a bad week last week. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) dropped 8.9%, but it is up 2.4% in pre-market trading.
That gain and some upward movement in many of the mega-cap stocks are helping to drive the equity futures in a northerly direction.
The S&P 500 futures are up 31 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 263 points and are trading 0.8% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 64 points and are trading 0.1% above fair value.
That will leave the cash market on course for a higher open, and from there, much will be riding on the direction of the semiconductor stocks, oil prices, and bond yields. In other words, today's outcome is very much up in the air.
The 2-yr note yield is up two basis points to 4.19%, and the 10-yr note yield is up two basis points to 4.56%.
