Wall Street began the week on a positive note on Monday (November 2), with all three major US indices advancing as a sharp decline in crude oil prices lifted sentiment and technology stocks staged a recovery.
Investors also positioned themselves ahead of a busy earnings calendar and the upcoming midterm elections. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 405 points, or 0.8%.
Oil prices came under heavy selling pressure, with Brent crude futures plunging more than 6% to around $106 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also dropped over 6% to approximately $97 per barrel.
A report that President Donald Trump wants to give diplomacy with Iran more time before resuming strikes also helped Wall Street sentiment. Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he wants to let negotiations play out, Axios reported. That message helped temper expectations for an escalation of the war.
Why Is This Week Important For Wall Street
The midterm elections is the biggest trigger for Wall Street this week as polls are suggesting a democrat sweep of both the Senate and the House. However, US President Donald Trump has refused to accept any adverse outcome of the election, stating that he would veto the same.
Apart from the midterm elections, earnings and macro data continues to be reported during the course of the week. Apple, Palantir, AMD, Amgen, Qualcomm, ARM Holdings, Uber, Pfizer, are some of the important results that will be reported along Monday and Wednesday, with Apple reporting numbers after Monday’s market closing hours. Berkshire Hathaway will be reporting its results on Friday.
On the macro data front, the start of the month means reports from the manufacturing and services PMI, JOLTS’ job openings, and most importantly, the October jobs report will also be disclosed this week on Friday.
With the Fed policy now done, the blackout period for officials has now been lifted, and three important Fed officials will speaking during the course of the week as well.
Morgan Stanley Says Buy The Dip
Wall Street veteran and Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson told Bloomberg in an interview that while there are many factors like the elections, AI-related stress and liquidity concerns that could pull the S&P 500 down to 7,100 levels, once the stress clears out, he would expect the index to move back to 8,000 levels and he continues to remain bullish on the market.
S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow jump as oil prices tumble ahead of midterms, tech shares rebound