LONDON — Stock index futures at 7am ET indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) may open down by 0.17% this morning, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) may open down by 0.14%. CNN’s Fear & Greed Index remains in the fear zone, and is set to open unchanged from Friday’s close, at 32, today.
In Europe, London markets were closed for a public holiday, but eurozone markets fell this morning. The biggest falls were seen in Italy, where investors are increasingly worried about the stability of the country’s government, and the likelihood of a snap election, which could delay progress with economic reforms and raise yields on Italian government debt. Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit SpA, was down by 4.3% at 7am ET, while Italy’s FTSE MIB index was down by 2.44%. Elsewhere, the DAX was down 0.25%, and the CAC 40 was down 0.63%.
US investors will be watching for July’s durable goods orders report, which is due at 8.30am ET, and is expected to show that durable goods orders fell by 4.9% in July, after gaining 3.9% in June. Economic highlights due later this week include August’s consumer confidence index on Tuesday, July’s pending home sales on Wednesday and the revised second-quarter GDP estimate on Thursday, all of which may provide further clues as to the strength of the US recovery. Investors are becoming concerned that the Fed taper will cause the housing market to stall, after figures released on Friday showed that new home sales fell by 13.5% in July.
Companies that may be actively traded today include Microsoft. The Windows giant closed up by 7.3% on Friday, after the firm’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced his retirement, but the firm’s stock price was virtually unchanged in pre-market trading this morning. No major corporate earnings announcements are due today, but Onyx Pharmaceuticals was 5.7% higher in pre-market trading after news emerged that the firm has agreed a $10.4bn sale to Amgen, whose stock price was 5.6% higher in pre-market trading. Amgen’s decision to purchase Onyx is likely to have been influenced by Onyx’s recently-approved blood cancer drug Kyprolis, which analysts estimate may deliver more than $3bn in revenue by 2021, according to Bloomberg.
Finally, let’s not forget the Dow’s daily movements can add up to some serious long-term gains. Indeed, Warren Buffett recently wrote: “The Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497 in the 20th Century, a staggering 17,320% increase that materialized despite four costly wars, a Great Depression and many recessions.” If you, like Buffett, are convinced about the long-term power of the Dow, you should read “5 Stocks To Retire On“. Your long-term wealth could be transformed, even in this uncertain economy. Simply click here now to download this free, no-obligation report.
> Roland does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.