Opening Bell: Earnings Expectations Drive Markets Higher; USD Extends Selloff

 | Oct 14, 2021 07:56AM ET

  • Treasury yields fall for the third day,
  • Market anomalies remain
  • Bitcoin trades lower
  • Key Events/h2

    Futures contracts on the Dow, S&P, NASDAQ and Russell 2000 tracked a rally in European equities on Thursday as investors appeared to shrug off additional indications of rising inflation and instead focus on positive corporate earnings results. 

    Gold continued to trade higher.

    Global Financial Affairs/h2

    US futures extended a rebound after underlying gauges ended a three-day decline. It’s noteworthy that contracts on the Russell 2000 and the NASDAQ 100 outperformed futures on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones index.

    We have been pointing out such anomalies in recent days. Yesterday, the same two outperformed despite concerns that inflationary pressure will dent the post-pandemic recovery. The sentiment seems to suggest that solid corporate earnings results are outweighing inflation worries. 

    In Europe, the STOXX 600 Index traded higher driven by the technology and mining sectors. Semiconductor stocks also outperformed amid a global hunger for chips, as manifested by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM), a Taiwanese chipmaker, which posted a 13.8% increase in quarterly profits.

    Most of the markets in Asia were higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan rose 0.5%, South Korea’s KOSPI outperformed, adding 1.5%, closely followed by Japan’s Nikkei 225’s 1.46% climb. China’s Shanghai Composite retreated 0.1%, making it the only major regional index to close in the red, with property shares extending a selloff amid the Evergrande (HK:3333) fallout.

    Economic data from China shows persistent inflation there. The annual producer prices rose in September at the quickest rate ever. This latest data was on the heels of data from the US on Wednesday which showed another strong increase in American consumer prices last month, coupled with the minutes from September’s Federal Reserve meeting in which members expressed rising anxiety about inflation.

    Treasury yields on the 10-year note fell for the third straight day, as investors’ risk appetite grew.