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Stock-market futures are mixed this morning, with the Dow pointing to a lower open after finishing yesterday the only leading index to manage a gain; voters are preparing for Election Day in the U.S.; shares of Apple and Palantir are falling after reporting their latest financial results last night; and investors are watching for more updates from big companies today, including from AMD.
Here's what you need to know today.
Stock-Market Futures Mixed in Early Action
Early yesterday, there was reason for optimism in the early action after a rough end to last week. It didn't quite hold , as the Nasdaq Composite dropped another 1.1% and the S&P 500 also fell. (The Dow managed to start the week with a gain.) Today's early action is mixed as investors prepare for Election Day—more on that below—and digest more earnings reports: Futures tied to the S&P were edging lower, while those tied to the blue-chip Dow were down 0.8%. Those tied to the Nasdaq 100 were up about 0.3%.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.936%, up slightly from late Monday. Oil prices rose, with U.S. benchmark WTI up more than 2% to just under $99 a barrel as The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. was still conducting limited strikes on Iran. Precious metals prices were modestly lower, while bitcoin was also retreating to near $77,000.
Read Investopedia's full coverage of today's markets here .
Investors Eye U.S. Midterm Elections
Election Day is here, meaning long lines for some voters and long nights for those who plan to stay up until they know all they can about what the results portend for their candidates and parties—as well as for the U.S. economy and policies that affect American pocketbooks. Analysts believe a change in the balance of power is possible, with Democrats eyeing majorities in one or both houses of Congress; whatever happens may also reframe the path ahead for the balance of President Donald Trump's term. Here's Investopedia's election preview .
For those focused mainly on stock markets? While BlackRock recently observed that midterm years usually aren't the strongest, Bespoke Investment Group has urged a cool head, noting that since the Great Financial Crisis, despite a range of different combinations of party primacy in Washington, stocks have continued to rise. And Franklin Templeton recently said that under Republican presidents, the composition of Congress after the midterms seems to have comparatively little effect on returns.
Apple Beats Estimates, Margin Outlook Concerns Investors
Shares of Apple (AAPL) are falling premarket, with the stock recently down almost 4%, after the company last night reported its latest quarterly results. The company turned in fiscal Q3 revenue of $114.5 billion for the quarter, along with $30.7 billion in net profit, with both numbers ahead of Wall Street's expectations as measured by Visible Alpha's survey. CEO John Ternus in a statement cited "an incredible lineup to carry us into the holiday season," though executives also pointed to a sequential decline in gross margins driven largely by memory costs. Apple's shares are up about 25% this year through Monday's close.
Palantir Stock Falls Even After Upbeat Guidance
Shares of Palantir (PLTR) were among the morning's more dramatic big-name premarket decliners, falling nearly 8% after reporting its own results. The data analytics firm reported $2.3 billion in revenue and $1.1 billion in net income, both numbers ahead of Street expectations; it also told investors to expect Q4 revenue of $2.649 - $2.653 billion, ahead of the Visible Alpha mean estimate of a bit less than $2.5 billion. The company's growth, CEO Alex Karp said in a letter, "represents a degree of intensity and sustained momentum that we believe is unmatched in recent economic history." Some may be eying a reported $2.9 billion in reported Q3 closed total contract value, down from the previous quarter.
AMD a Highlight of Today's Earnings Reports
A busy week of results from big businesses—145 S&P 500 companies are expected to report this week, according to Oppenheimer—continues today. One of the most closely watched reports will likely be that of chip designer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which last quarter may have suffered from high expectations from investors; its shares have more than doubled this year through Monday's close. Wall Street is looking for revenue of $13.1 billion and net income of $2.4 billion, according to Visible Alpha data. The results are due after the bell. AMD's shares were up nearly 2% premarket.
Among the other notable companies reporting today are drugmaker Pfizer (PFE), beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), and restaurant chain operator Yum Brands (YUM). All three reports are expected this morning.
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