Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a mostly higher opening this morning as investors assess another round of corporate earnings and await this afternoon's FOMC decision.

Semiconductor and other AI infrastructure stocks, which have led the market's advance so far this week, are on track for another strong showing following encouraging earnings results, with SK Hynix (SKHY) among the standouts in premarket trading.

However, crude oil prices are also moving higher this morning after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration advised several Gulf nations to prepare for a possible short but intense military campaign against Iran following the midterm elections. The renewed geopolitical concerns are adding some pressure to the broader market.

The market is not anticipating any changes to monetary policy this afternoon, with the CME FedWatch Tool assigning a 90.6% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged.

On the U.S. data front:

• 10/24 MBA Mortgage Applications Index 3.4%; prior -5.3%

Today's remaining economic calendar:

• 8:30 AM ET: September Adv. Intl. Trade in Goods; Briefing.com consensus -$128.7B; prior -$132.6B
• 8:30 AM ET: September Adv. Retail Inventories; prior 0.3%
• 8:30 AM ET: September Adv. Wholesale Inventories; Briefing.com consensus 0.5%; prior 0.7%
• 10:30 AM ET: 10/24 EIA Crude Oil Inventories; prior -3.061M
• 2:00 PM ET: October FOMC Meeting; Briefing.com consensus 3.75-4.00%; prior 3.75-4.00%

In corporate news:

• Visa (V 392.94, -8.92, -2.22%) topped fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations on in-line revenue, issued generally in-line fiscal first-quarter growth guidance, and raised its dividend 16%.
• Vertiv (VRT 241.11, +32.55, +15.61%) is a notable premarket gainer after beating third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue increasing 61.2% year-over-year.
• SK hynix (SKHY 157.11, +11.75, +8.08%) is higher after beating third-quarter revenue expectations and reporting a more than sevenfold increase in operating profit.
• Aon (AON 313.64, +11.14, +3.68%) is higher after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings on roughly in-line revenue.

Reviewing overnight developments:

According to Nikkei, Asian markets finished broadly higher as renewed AI enthusiasm spread across Japan, China, and South Korea.

In news:

• Technology shares strengthened across the region, with South Korean equities rallying after results from SK hynix (SKHY 157.11, +11.75, +8.08%) provided additional evidence of AI-related demand.
• Investors in China awaited policy signals from the Communist Party's Fifth Plenum.

In economic data:

• Australia's Q3 CPI +1.3% q/q (expected +1.3%; prior +0.6%) and +3.9% yr/yr (expected +3.9%; prior +3.9%)
• Australia's Q3 Trimmed Mean CPI +1.0% q/q (expected +1.0%; prior +0.8%) and +3.7% yr/yr (expected +3.6%; prior +3.6%)
• Australia's September Monthly CPI Indicator +4.3% yr/yr (expected +4.2%; prior +4.0%) Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its policy rate at 2.75% (expected 3.00%; prior 2.75%)

Equity Markets:

• Japan's Nikkei: +1.1%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.2%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.9%
• India's Sensex: -0.5%
• South Korea's Kospi: +6.6%
• Australia's All Ordinaries: 0.0%

European markets trade mostly lower as investors review a heavy slate of corporate earnings and await the Federal Reserve's policy decision and major U.S. technology results.

In news:

• U.K. investors are awaiting Chancellor John Healey's first Budget later today.
• Brent crude's rebound above $115 has added to inflation and growth uncertainty in the region.

In economic data:

• Germany's November GfK Consumer Climate -30.8 (expected -30.1; prior -30.6)
• Switzerland's October ZEW Expectations -15.3 (prior 2.6)
• Italy's August Industrial Sales -0.9% m/m (prior +1.7%) and +4.2% yr/yr (prior +4.9%)
• Italy's September PPI +2.9% m/m (prior +2.4%) and +13.8% yr/yr (prior +10.9%)

Equity Markets:

• STOXX Europe 600 : -0.3%
• Germany's DAX : -0.1%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 : -0.3%
• France's CAC 40 : -0.2%
• Italy's FTSE MIB : -0.1%
• Spain's IBEX 35 : -1.3%