October 7, 2024

Markets:

Stock futures slipped on Monday as Wall Street struggles to keep the momentum from Friday’s rally.

Adding pressure to futures was an uptick in U.S. Treasury yields. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 3 basis points to 4.008%. That marks the first time since August that the yield topped 4%.

Higher oil prices also weighed, as tensions in the Middle East remain high. U.S. crude climbed more than 2% to more than $76 per barrel.

The move in futures comes after a bumpy week for stocks that saw the major averages grind out modest gains. The S&P 500 added 0.2% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.1% and the Dow added 0.1%.

On the economic front, key releases in the week ahead include the Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday and the consumer price index report on Thursday. Earnings season also starts to heat up, with results from Delta Air Lines and JPMorgan Chase due out Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Treasury yields continued rising Monday, with the benchmark 10-year rate topping 4% for the first time since August. The 10-year Treasury yield was last up nearly 3 basis points at about 4.01%. The 2-year note yield was also nearly 7 basis points higher at around 4%.

Portfolio:

Great start to October for us and we continue to march forward here.  This week, the markets will navigate a mix of strong U.S. economic data, escalating tensions in the Middle East, and divergent central bank policies across major economies. Despite these challenges, the S&P 500 continues its upward trajectory, closing last week at 5,751.07, just shy of its all-time high.  The hated rally continue to march on and one that many have yet to participate in.  We mentioned this a few months ago, but can you believe what the "chase for performance" period will bring us??  

The beauty of this, low VIX and balanced sentiment indicate continue to show that market strength can only become stronger. We are far from an overbought stance.  Not even close!

The real excitement comes for the earnings season ahead and the period AFTER the elections.  This will start the next cycle. 

We enter this week holding set-ups in LUMN, TSLL, and APA  So much happening this week; AI event, TSLA update, CPI, Earnings, etc.  Be ready this week!