Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, October 24:
1. AT&T picks up Time Warner for $85 billion
AT&T confirmed over the weekend that it agreed to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion in a move to create a telecom-media giant in what would be the largest acquisition this year.
Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) shares were registering slight gains in pre-market trade on Monday after having gained close to 8% in the prior session on unconfirmed reports of the deal. AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) was down nearly 3% in the pre-market trade.
2. Euro zone composite PMI hits 10-month high; U.S. manufacturing on tap
The euro zone preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed on Monday that business activity in the region this month hits its strongest reading since December 2015.
Japan’s flash October manufacturing PMI also beat estimates after showing its fastest expansion in nine months.
Investors looked ahead to Markit’s preliminary manufacturing PMI for October which is due at 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT).
3. Dollar hovers near 8-month highs on rate hike expectations
The dollar traded flat against other major currencies on Monday, as sustained expectations for a 2016 U.S. rate hike continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.01% at 98.63, just off a fresh eight-month peak of 98.82 hit overnight.
Markets were pricing in the chance of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in December at 69.2%, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
That was ahead of a slew of appearances by officials throughout the day that will include New York Fed chief William Dudley, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard, Chicago Fed president Charles Evans or Fed governor Jerome Powell.
4. Markets await earnings dump
On Monday, Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Sonic Corp (NASDAQ:SONC), VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB) and T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) will be among a slew of S&P 500 companies that will report numbers in what will be a busy week worldwide for the earnings season.
Three of the world’s four biggest companies by market value, including Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Tuesday after the market close, are due to announce results this week in the U.S., along with four of China’s largest listed banks reporting and updates are also coming from more than 350 components of Japan’s Topix index.
In the U.S., 80% of the 116 S&P 500 companies that had reported as of last Friday had beat profit estimates on 8.1% growth, according to The Earnings Scout. That compared to 70% in the second quarter.
5. Global stocks mostly higher ahead of busy week
U.S. futures pointed to a higher open as market players awaited the flow of corporate earnings this week with eyes also on Friday’s publication of the third quarter U.S. gross domestic product. The blue-chip Dow futures rose 0.47%, by 5:58AM ET (9:58GMT), S&P 500 futures added 0.48% and the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.63%.
European stocks rose after an upbeat reading on business activity in the euro zone region and as equities continued to be buoyed by the European Central Bank’s pledge the prior week to evaluate the possibility of more stimulus in December.
Earlier, Asian stocks were mostly higher with Japan eking out gains as exports fell less than expected and the positive read on the manufacturing sector.