Before the Bell
US stock futures are barely moving this morning, a pause near record highs before a week packed with bank earnings and inflation data. S&P 500 futures are up 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures are down about 0.1%. Oil is the swing factor again: WTI crude, the US benchmark, is up about 1.2% to near $93 a barrel, and Brent, the global benchmark, sits near $106 after weekend Houthi strikes on Riyadh's main airport and fresh drone attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. A Russia-Ukraine energy truce and a Russian diesel supply deal briefly pulled crude lower overnight. It is Columbus Day: stocks trade normally, but the bond market is closed.
Stocks ended last week on a firm note. On Friday the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,811.54, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% to 27,366.17 and the Dow added 0.8% to 51,654.95. The biggest moves were in telecoms: T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon fell between 8.5% and 13% after SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of wireless spectrum, which could turn Starlink into a mobile carrier. Humana jumped 12% on better Medicare Advantage quality ratings. Overnight, European shares rose about 0.5%, led by banks, while South Korea's Kospi fell nearly 3% on worries about chip stocks. Japan was closed for a holiday.