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iStockPhoto Markets participants have been processing a lot of info lately
U.S. stock-indexes on Monday were headed slightly higher to end the month and quarter as a Treasury official said there were no immediate plans to prevent Chinese companies from listing on domestic exchanges, momentarily calming a fear that buckled equities on Friday.
Market participants, however, were keeping one eye on developments against President Donald Trump who is facing an impeachment inquiry in Congress.
What are major indexes doing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ19, +0.24% were up 65 points, or 0.2%, at 26,861, those for the S&P 500 index ESZ19, +0.29% were up 8.45 points, or 0.3%, at 2,972, while Nasdaq-100 futures NQZ19, +0.42% were gaining 35.25 points to reach 7,736.25, a gain of 0.5%.
On Friday, the Dow DJIA, -0.26% lost 70.87 points or 0.26%, to 26,820.25, while S&P 500 index SPX, -0.53% lost 15.83 points, or 0.53%, to trade at 2,961.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -1.13% gave up 91.03 points, or 1.13%, at 7,939.63.
For the week, the Dow shed 0.43%, the S&P 500 retreated 1.01%, while the Nasdaq lost 2.19%.
What’s driving the market?
Bloomberg News, citing Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley, reported that the Trump administration isn’t contemplating blocking Chinese companies from “listing shares on U.S. stock exchanges at this time.”
The Treasury officials comments come after Bloomberg reported on Friday that the White House has been discussing ways to curb U.S. portfolio inflows into China, according to Bloomberg News, a crackdown that could hit billions worth of investments and escalate the Sino-American trade war.
The reports come as Chinese negotiators are set to meet Oct. 10-11 in Washington, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to lead the delegation from Beijing.
Tensions between the U.S. and China on trade have been rattling global markets for the past year, because the conflict between the world’s largest economies has the potential to hurt economies around the world.
Investors are also watching the fallout of a whistleblower report released on Thursday, which alleged that Trump attempted to coerce Ukraine to produce damaging information on Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, and that White House officials acted to conceal evidence of his actions. The controversy around the report prompted House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment inquiry.
The whistleblower is expected to testify in front of the House, “very soon,” though in a way that will protect the persons identity, according to Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump called for Schiff “to be questioned at the highest level for fraud and treason,” arguing that Schiff misrepresented the contents of the whistleblower complaint during a hearing last week.
Looking ahead, investors are awaiting a pair of reports at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on business conditions in the Chicago area, Chicago PMIs, and a survey that tracks monthly factory activity in Texas, the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey.
How are other markets trading?
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.72% fell less than a basis points to 1.678%.
In commodities markets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for November delivery CLX19, -1.11% fell 56 cents to $55.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a 1% decline.
Gold for December delivery GCZ19, -1.09% fell $12.80 to $1,493.50 an ounce, falling well below a psychologically significant level at $1,500 an ounce.
In Asia, the China CSI 300 000300, -0.99% lost 1%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.56% retreated 0.6% but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.53% gained 0.5%. European stocks were mostly higher, as measured by the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.08%, up less than 0.1%.
