Equities head for higher open as yields retreat from highs

A pullback in both Treasury yields and oil prices helped lift the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite off four-month lows Wednesday, while a weaker-than-expected labour market alleviated some concern over the possibility the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates again.  The Dow closed 127 points higher, snapping a three-day losing streak while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.  Technology shares were among the strongest performers, together with consumer discretionary, while energy was the biggest loser.  Elsewhere European equity markets closed towards the flatline yesterday, with the Euro Stoxx 50 Index registering a marginal gain of 0.1%. 

Summary for 05.10.2023 

• Asian equities rose this morning, rebounded from 11-month lows as a plunge in oil prices and softer US labour data helped pull Treasury yields off 16-year peaks, although a looming US payrolls report could make or break the rally.   
• European shares are set to recover some recent losses this morning while US equity futures ticker lower after yesterday’s positive session. 
• Oil prices inched up on Thursday, clawing back some of the previous session’s big losses after an OPEC+ panel maintained oil output cuts to keep supply tight, through an uncertain demand outlook capped gains. 

• Private businesses in the US hired 89k workers in September, the least since January 2021 when private employers shed jobs, and well below market forecasts of 153k.  It follows a revised 180k increase in August.  Meanwhile, annual wage growth slowed to 5.9%, the 12^th consecutive monthly decline.   
• The ISM Services PMI in the US eased to 53.6 in September from the six-month high of 54.5 in the previous month, in line with market expectations.  Still, the result pointed to the ninth consecutive expansion for service sector activity to mark 39 periods of growth from the last 40.  Elsewhere, new orders for manufactured goods in the US increased 1.2% from the previous month, more than market expectations of a 0.2% rise and after a 2.1% decline.  
• Producer prices in the Euro Area fell by 11.5% year-on-year in August, following a 7.6% decrease in the previous month, which was broadly in line with market expectations of an 11.6% drop.  This marked the steepest decline in producer prices on record.  Excluding energy, producer price inflation decelerated to 1.0% year-on-year in August, down from 1.6% in July.  On a monthly basis, producer prices rose by 0.6%, ending a seven-month period of decrease. 
• Apple CEO Tim Cook made $41.5 million after taxes in his biggest share sale in two years, a US securities filing showed.  Cook sold 511,000 shares, which were worth about $87.8 before accounting for taxes, according to the filing dated Tuesday.  The Apple chief owns about 3.3 million shares, valued at about $565 million, following the sale, the filing showed. 
• Shares of Intel closed 0.7% higher yesterday after the chipmaker announced it would spin off its programmable chip unit as a standalone business, with an initial public offering planned in two to three years. 

• Moderna advanced 1.1% after the company announced Wednesday positive interim results from a trial of mRNA-1083, which combines vaccines against influenza and Covid. 
• Novartis fell 3.3% after the Swiss drugmaker completed the spinoff of its generics and biosimilars business Sandoz.