|
Wall
Street notched its best day in a month on Friday following the
report that showed strong gains in employment for the second
straight month.
The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq closed at record highs.
Futures on Monday were also helped by a 1.5 percent rise in oil
prices after reports of renewed talks by some OPEC members to
restrain output. [O/R]
Gold <XAU=>, a safe haven asset, fell to a one-week low, while
the Japanese yen remained weak suggesting that the markets were
in a risk-on mode.
Although strong jobs data could encourage the Federal Reserve to
raise interest rates, analysts have said the central bank may
wait for more data before it makes the move.
While traders priced in higher rate-hike chances in the near
term, they do not expect the Fed to pull the trigger even until
July next year, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
A better-than-expected corporate earnings season has helped fuel
a rally in equities, with the S&P 500 notching nine record highs
since July.
Earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to fall 2.6 percent
in the quarter, compared with the 5 percent decline expected at
the start of the season, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Mattress Firm more than doubled to $62.86 in thin
premarket trading after Steinhoff International agreed to buy
the company.
Tesla was off 1.2 percent to $227.22 after the company said
costs for its Gigafactory may exceed expectations and disclosed
$1.1 billion in quarterly cash needs.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
