Stocks High, Railstrikes, Disney, UnitedHealth – 5 Things You Need to Know
Five things to know before the market opens on Tuesday, November 29th:
1. — Stock futures rise as markets track changes in China’s Covid
U.S. stock futures rose slightly on Tuesday as the dollar rallied to global peers as investors called for changes to China’s draconian Covid health policy after a rare weekend of protests in the world’s second-largest economy. US Treasury yields stabilized.
But security remains tight in China’s major cities, and comments from senior Beijing officials, including the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, are more likely for fine-tuning than a complete overhaul of quarantine, vaccination and infectious disease rules. suggests that domestic travel.
Still, Chinese stocks traded solidly higher in the overnight session as overall sentiment improved, leading the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan index up 2.38% towards the end of the trade. The move helped push the US Dollar Index down against a basket of global peers, holding the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield at 3.677%.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 0.11% in early trading in Frankfurt, while the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.64% in London.
a series of comments from federal reserve But yesterday’s officials likely slowed the follow-through from the Asian session, and as central banks remain focused on efforts to contain the fastest, interest rates could continue to rise for most of next year. indicates that it is of high quality. inflation in 40 years.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Birkin told Bloomberg Television: “I’m very much in favor of a slower, possibly longer, potentially higher path.
CME Group’s FedWatch still sets prices 50% of the time 70% of the time. basis point Next month’s rate hike in Washington, most of the bets federation rate It will peak between 5% and 5.25% in spring 2023.
Elsewhere, hopes of easing Covid restrictions in China coupled with more Speculation The impact of production cuts by OPEC members in Vienna next week boosted global oil prices, pushing the Brent contract for January from $1.97 to $85.16 a barrel and WTI futures for the same month at $1.48 a barrel. $ to $78.72.
On Wall Street, futures are S&P 500 A modest 10-point opening bell is expected ahead of November’s consumer confidence data and September’s house price index numbers. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 37 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 50 points.
2. — President Biden asks Congress to intervene in rail strike
President Joe Biden called on Congress to intervene and prevent a potential “catastrophic national rail shutdown” by adopting an interim agreement brokered by the White House in September.
Biden called on Congress to approve a deal that included higher wages, better working conditions and “peace of mind” about health care benefits for the U.S. economy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in what could be her last act as Speaker of the House, lawmakers will take action over the next few days to “prevent a devastating nationwide rail strike that will bring our economy to a halt.” He said he would start the process on
The strike itself, which could go into effect on December 9 last year, would damage the economy by about $2 billion a day, shut down about 30% of the country’s freight traffic, disrupt the passenger rail network, Delaying cargo deliveries could increase inflationary pressures. major energy, food and consumer goods.
“A railroad closure would hurt the economy,” the president said. “Without freight railroads, many industries in the United States would shut down. Farms and ranches across the country could be left unable to feed their livestock.”
3. — Disney shares rise after first Town Hall since Bob Iger’s return
Walt Disney (DIS)- Get Free Report Shares rose in pre-market trading after comments from CEO Bob Iger, who returned late yesterday, suggested no major changes to the media and entertainment giant’s strategy.
Iger was named earlier this month to replace ousted Bob Chapek as Disney shares posted their biggest year-to-date decline in history, and at a town hall meeting in Burbank, Calif., the group said: Pursuing profitability…rather than chasing subscribers with aggressive marketing and content spending.” He said.
His comments echo those of Chapek, who was fired by the board earlier this month following last month’s disappointing fourth-quarter earnings. It makes up for losses in the direct-to-consumer segment.
Disney shares hit a 0.43% high in pre-market trading, showing an opening price of $96.10 each.
4. — Cyber Monday sales hit record highs as shoppers hunt for bargains
According to Adobe Analytics, US consumers spent a record $11.6 billion on Cyber Monday sales yesterday. This is because value-conscious buyers postponed most of their shopping to the end of the traditional holiday period.
Adobe says overall sales, up 8.5% from last year, will precede spending of about $35.7 billion this week as consumers continue to look for bargains online amid decades of high inflation. It is highly likely.
According to Adobe, online and mobile sales accounted for a large portion of the weekend’s shopping surge, with 48% of Black Friday sales coming from smartphone orders. The shopper spent a record $5.3 billion on Thursday, adding another $9 billion in online sales over the weekend, the group estimates.
5. — UnitedHealth underperformed conservative 2023 earnings forecast
united health group (UNH)- Get Free Report The stock fell in pre-market trading after forecasting weaker-than-expected 2023 earnings ahead of an investor conference in New York later today.
Adjusted earnings for the next fiscal year, which begins in January, are likely to be in the range of $24.40 to $24.90 per share, according to UnitedHealth, with overall earnings in the $357 billion to $360 billion range, with an earnings per share of That’s slightly below Refinitiv’s forecast of $24.94.
CEO Andrew Witty told investors in October, “Given its impact on healthcare spending trends over the last few years, it’s clear that the impact of COVID has received a lot of attention.” There’s probably a bit of a COVID effect mixed in, but there are cost of living impacts, inflation, capacity constraints, etc. as tighter labor markets are impacting different parts of the system at different times.”
“So I think this whole issue is actually more complicated in some respects.
Dow constituent UnitedHealth stocks fell 0.02% in pre-market trading, pointing to opening prices of $532.16 each.
https://www.thestreet.com/markets/stocks-higher-rail-strike-disney-unitedhealth-5-things-to-know Stocks High, Railstrikes, Disney, UnitedHealth – 5 Things You Need to Know