USD
The strongest to the weakest of the major currencies

The JPY is the strongest and the NZD is the weakest as the NA session begins. The USD is mixed with little changes vs all the major currencies (< 0.12%) with the exception of the NZD (which the greenback is up 0.32%).

The US House of Representatives are in day 11 of no business with no leader. The nominated GOP member Scalise withdrew his name for consideration after hours of meeting yesterday made no progress. The process is restarting.

Crude prices experienced a surge following the U.S.'s decision to impose sanctions on tankers transporting Russian oil priced above the G7's $60 per barrel cap, intensifying the strain on the already tight global supply. This development eclipsed the news of U.S. crude oil stockpiles increasing by over 10 million barrels last week (announce yesterday) and production reaching a new peak of 13.2 million barrels per day. Despite the rise in stockpiles, U.S. crude futures were trading over 4% higher, influenced by the sanctions and the aftermath of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel.

Overnight, China's consumer prices in September remained unexpectedly stagnant, amplifying concerns regarding continuous deflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed a 0.0% annual change in the consumer price index, a deviation from the anticipated 0.2% increase and a deceleration from the 0.1% recorded in August. Additionally, factory-gate prices experienced a 2.5% decline year-over-year, surpassing the expected 2.4% drop but marking the smallest reduction in seven months.

The official or unofficial start to the earnings season has started with some of the leading financials reporting.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC) Q3 2023 MISS: up 1.38%

  • Adjusted EPS: $3.60, beating the expected $3.11
  • Revenue: $5.233 billion, slightly below the expected $5.32 billion
  • Net Interest Income: $3.42 billion, slightly above the expected $3.41 billion

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) Q3 2023 BEAT: up 0.75%

  • Adjusted EPS: $4.33, exceeding the expected $3.96
  • Adjusted Revenue: $40.69 billion, surpassing the expected $39.64 billion
  • Noted increased risks due to high government debt and a tight labor market, leading to sustained inflation and potential rate increases
  • Consumers are currently in a healthy financial state

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) Q3 2023 BEAT: up 0.64%

  • EPS: $1.48, beating the expected $1.24
  • Revenue: $20.86 billion, exceeding the expected $20.11 billion

Citigroup Inc (C) Q3 2023 BEAT: up 1.8%

  • EPS: $1.63, beating the expected $1.21
  • Revenue: $20.1 billion, exceeding the expected $19.32 billion

A snapshot of the markets as the NA session gets underway shows:

  • Crude oil is trading up $3.50 or 4.22% at $86.41. At this time yesterday the price was trading at $84.37.
  • Spot gold is trading up $26.30 or 1.41% at $1895.22. At this time yesterday the price was trading at $1883.80
  • Spot silver is trading up $0.45 or 2.06% at $22.27. At this time yesterday the price was trading at $22.17
  • Bitcoin is trading at $26,816. At this time yesterday the price was trading at $26,775.

In the US premarket for US stocks, futures are implying a mixed open. The major indices snapped a four day winning streak yesterday. In company specific news, Britain's antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), approved Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, paving the way for the completion of the gaming industry's largest deal to date. The approval comes after a revised agreement where Activision will sell its cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment, preventing Microsoft from monopolizing Activision's popular titles on its Xbox Cloud Gaming service. With the CMA's concerns addressed, Microsoft is expected to finalize the acquisition by October 18. Microsoft shares are trading down -0.3% at $329.90. Activision shares are trading down -0.05%

  • Dow Industrial Average futures are implying a gain of 20 points points. Yesterday the index fell -173.73 points
  • S&P index futures are implying a loss of -2.65 points. Yesterday the index fell -27.34 points
  • NASDAQ futures are implying a decline of -48 points points. Yesterday the index fell -85.46 points

In the European equity markets, the major indices are moving lower after mixed results yesterday:

  • German DAX, down -0.76%
  • France's CAC, down -0.71%
  • UK's FTSE 100, down -0.30%
  • Spain's Ibex, down -0.62%
  • Italy's FTSE MIB, down -0.37% (10 minute delay)

in the Asia Pacific market:

  • Japan's Nikkei index fell -0.55%. For the week of the index rose 4.26%
  • China's Shanghai composite index fell -0.64%. For the week the index fell -0.719%
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell -2.33%. For the week the index rose 1.87%
  • Australia's S&P/ASX index fell -0.56%. For the week the index rose 1.4%

In the US debt market, yields are moving lower after the surge yesterday. Recall from yesterday, yields move higher after a terrible 30-year you bond auction and higher CPI data. All the coupon auctions this week (3, 10 and 30 year) had larger than the 6-month average tails indicative of weak investor demand).

  • US 2Y T-NOTE: Rate 5.0347, Change -3.6 basis points
  • US 5Y T-NOTE: Rate 4.6281, Change -7.3 basis points
  • US 10Y T-NOTE: Rate 4.6186, Change -9.2 basis points
  • US 30Y T-BOND: Rate 4.7746, Change -9.6 basis points

In the European debt market, benchmark 10-year yields are also trading lower:

Europe