Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a mostly higher open this morning as tech names once again provide strong leadership in the premarket. 

Stocks are coming off of a record-setting week that capped a strong month of October, with solid earnings growth, AI investment momentum, and trade-deal optimism between the U.S. and China driving the major averages to record highs. 

The White House released the details of the recently agreed-upon deal with China over the weekend, which was largely in line with what the market anticipated. Rare earth exports, soybeans, and fentanyl were among the key points, and the additional 100% tariff threatened against China will be suspended for a year. 

Earnings will continue to pour in this week, with a few names reporting before the open and a sizable batch after the close. 

The market will also receive some economic data today, which includes the release of the October ISM Manufacturing Index (Briefing.com consensus 49.4%) at 10:00 ET. 

In corporate news:

• Kenvue (KVUE 17.23, +2.86, +19.9%) is set to be acquired by Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB 103.00, -16.71, -14.0%) in a cash/stock deal. Kenvue beat EPS expectations by $0.02, missed revenue expectations, and reaffirmed its FY25 EPS guidance. 
• Netflix (NFLX 1,132.69, +13.83, +1.2%) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at KGI Securities, with a price target of $1,350.
• NVIDIA (NVDA 206.28, +3.79, +1.9%) is up in the premarket after Microsoft (MSFT 521.96, +4.15, +0.8%) announced the U.S. will allow it to ship NVIDIA chips to the UAE, according to CNBC. President Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that NVIDIA will not be allowed to ship its most powerful Blackwell chips to China. 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region began November on a higher note while Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday. Japan's Nikkei: HOLIDAY, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +1.0%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.6%, India's Sensex: +0.1%, South Korea's Kospi: +2.8%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.1%.

In news:

• South Korea's Manufacturing PMI (49.4) showed a return to contraction in October while China's RatingDog Manufacturing PMI (50.6) reflected a deceleration in the pace of growth.
• The U.S. confirmed that the additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports is being suspended for a year while the overall tariff level was reduced to 47% from 57%.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia will release its latest policy Statement tomorrow, but a rate change is not expected.

In economic data:

• China's October RatingDog Manufacturing PMI 50.6 (expected 50.7; last 51.2)
• South Korea's October trade surplus $6.06 bln (expected surplus of $2.98 bln; last surplus of $9.53 bln). October Imports -1.5% yr/yr (expected -1.4%; last 8.2%) and Exports 3.6% yr/yr (last 12.6%). October Manufacturing PMI 49.4 (last 50.7)
• India's October Manufacturing PMI 59.2 (last 58.4)
• Australia's October Manufacturing PMI 49.7 (last 49.7) and October MI Inflation Gauge 0.3% m/m (last 0.4%). September Building Approvals 12.0% m/m (expected 5.1%; last -3.6%); 12.4% yr/yr (last -0.7%) and Private House Approvals 4.0% m/m (last -1.0%). October Commodity Prices -1.3% yr/yr (last 0.1%)
• New Zealand's September Building Consents 7.2% m/m (last 6.1%)

Major European indices trade in the green. STOXX Europe 600: +0.5%, Germany's DAX: +1.0%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.1%, France's CAC 40: +0.1%, Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.6%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.6%.

In news:

• Alphabet will sell six tranches of euro-denominated debt, looking to raise at least EUR3 bln.
• Ryanair raised its passenger guidance for the year while BP announced an asset sale.
• The European Central Bank's survey of monetary analysts showed expectations for no change in rates until early 2028, followed by rate hikes.
• The French government is still struggling to reach a budget agreement.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's October Manufacturing PMI 50.0, as expected (last 50.0)
• Germany's October Manufacturing PMI 49.6, as expected (last 49.6)
• U.K.'s October Manufacturing PMI 49.7 (expected 49.6; last 49.7)
• France's October Manufacturing PMI 48.8 (expected 48.3; last 48.8)
• Italy's October Manufacturing PMI 49.9 (expected 49.3; last 49.0)
• Spain's October Manufacturing PMI 52.1 (expected 51.8; last 51.5)
• Swiss October CPI -0.3% m/m (expected -0.1%; last -0.2%); 0.1% yr/yr (expected 0.3%; last 0.2%). October Manufacturing PMI 48.2 (expected 49.3; last 49.0)