The Day Ahead: Stock Futures Lower Ahead of Earnings, Beige Book

Equities are looking to extend yesterday’s losses in this morning’s pre-trading session. The data schedule is light today with no major releases scheduled to hit markets in the morning, although in the afternoon investors will eye the Fed’s Beige Book, a comprehensive, anecdotal report on economic conditions across all 12 Federal Reserve Districts.

Just before 7:00, the Dow is trading 47 points lower after shedding 5o points yesterday, putting the industrial led index just below the 10,000 threshold. S&P 500 futures are trading 5.7 points lower at 1,083.70.

As the dollar continues to rebound from 14-month lows, spot gold has fallen to $1,058.50 per troy ounce. The euro has once again failed to break past the key $1.50 level. 

In earnings, investors will be focusing on Q3 reports from Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, among others.

Key Events Today:

2:00 ― The Fed’s anecdotal summary of economic conditions, the Beige Book, should confirm broad improvement in the economy across most Federal Reserve districts. Growth is uneven between districts, however, and commercial real estate activity is suffering across the nation.

“The report is likely to emphasize that government aid has underpinned the recovery and that the prospect for strong growth once support is withdrawn remains uncertain,” said analysts from Nomura. 

The Beige Book from September 9 said the economy “continued to stabilize in July and August,” but officials noted that “labor market conditions remained weak across all Districts.”

4:30 ― Eric Rosengren, President of the Boston Fed, speaks on regulatory and monetary policy as he opens the bank’s annual Cape Cod economic conference in Chatham, Massachusetts.