Stocks surge as S&P 500 exits correction zone ahead of pivotal week

Stocks rallied on Monday, with the S&P 500 ending the day out of correction territory, as traders kicked off a big week filled with a Federal Reserve rate decision, jobs report and Apple’s earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 511.37 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 32,928.96. The 30-stock index registered its best day since June 2.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.2 per cent to 4,166.82 in its best performance since late August. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.16 per cent to 12,789.48.

Mega-cap tech stock stocks Amazon and Meta Platforms jumped 3.9 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

Pinterest exceeded analyst expectations with an 11 per cent increase in third-quarter sales, while expenses also saw a slight uptick of nearly 2 per cent, reaching $768.2 million compared to $753.9 million from the previous year.

Apple will report earnings Thursday after the bell. The S&P 500′s largest member is in a correction itself, down 14 per cent from its 52-week high.

The Federal Reserve decision looms Wednesday, when the central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rate at the same level. With surging interest rates as the main culprit of this stock market correction, investors will be hoping the Fed signals it could be finished with its rate hiking. Traders expect the Fed to be done raising rates at least for 2023.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped above 5 per cent to start last week, but it traded around 4.89 per cent on Monday. Friday will bring the October jobs report with investors hoping for some slowing in the labour market that will allow the Fed to feel comfortable with staying on hold the rest of the year.

Turning to US sectors, Communication Services was the best-performing S&P 500 sector, up by more than 2 per cent in its best day since late August. Energy recorded the fewest gains.

In commodity-related news, Indonesia's high-grade nickel ore reserves may be depleted in six years, leading to shortages in stainless steel production. To address this, the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association suggests domestic processing of lower-grade nickel ore, potentially ensuring a supply for 80 years.

Lithium stocks, including Albemarle, SQM, and Livent, were down significantly on Monday due to supply and demand concerns stemming from a U.S. semiconductor maker, Japanese battery manufacturer, and a Chinese mining company.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:35 AM was buying 63.75 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.34 per cent. Silver gained 2.42 per cent. Copper added 0.21 per cent. Oil dropped 3.58 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.50 per cent, Frankfurt rose 0.20 per cent, and Paris closed 0.44 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.95 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.04 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.12 per cent higher.

The Australian share market closed 0.79 per cent lower at 6,773.

Ex-dividends

Autosports Grp Ltd (ASX:ASG) is paying 10 cents fully franked
Brickworks Limited (ASX:BKW) is paying 42 cents fully franked
Metrics Income Opportunities Trust (ASX:MOT) is paying 1.99 cents unfranked
Metrics Master Income Trust (ASX:MXT) is paying 1.62 cents unfranked
Namoi Cotton Ltd (ASX:NAM) is paying 0.5 cents unfranked

Dividends payable

Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:KPG)
Magontec Ltd (ASX:MGL)
Rural Funds Group (ASX:RFF)
Steamships Trading Co Ltd (ASX:SST)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

Disclaimer

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