The Day Ahead: Equities Moving Up; Jobless Claims

Equities look to build on yesterday's rally as traders await for a key services index and look forward to Friday's employment report.

Treasuries, which rallied alongside equities yesterday, are drifting. The 10-year and 30-year yields are six and eight basis points higher in early trading at 2.05% and 3.09%. The two-year yield is steady at 0.23%.

S&P 500 futures are up 4.4 points to 1,238.60 and Dow futures have risen 42 points to 11,810.

Greece remains the global focus. The debt-ridden nation is set to hold a referendum December 4th or 5th on whether it accepts a bailout package and remains in the eurozone.

"The exact phrasing of the question has yet to be determined," noted BMO Capital Markets. But "the €8 billion in bailout funds that have been approved by the troika to be dispersed to Greece has been put on hold. Merkel and Sarkozy said that Greece won't get another cent until they know whether the country will remain part of the Euro Area. The IMF has made similar comments."

Light crude oil is up 0.50% at $93.97 per barrel and gold prices are 0.60% higher at $1,739.70.

Key Events Today:

8:30 - The recent trend of Initial Jobless Claims hasn't been scary or volatile, but nor has it been a harbinger of optimism. The four-week average is currently 406k, down from 418k a month ago, but weekly figures haven't been able to break through the 400k level. No improvement is anticipated for the final week of October: economists predict 410k new claims - 10k more than the prior week.

"Continuing claims" - the rally of people still receiving benefits - "likely continued its saw-toothed pattern, rising by 44,000 after an outsize plunge," said Citigroup. "This figure, as well as the insured rate, has been little changed for nearly seven months."

8:30 - Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, gives opening remarks at a conference on "What Should We Really Expect from Monetary Policy," in Atlanta.

10:00 - The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index, which covers the services, construction, and financial sectors, is anticipated to see few changes in October. The consensus forecast is a slightly-improved score of 53.6 (vs. 53 last month), indicating "moderate but steady" growth, in the words of Citigroup.

"Readings near 53 are marginal gains, and that is about all the economy can muster," added IHS Global Insight.

Of particular interest will be the employment component; it fell into contraction last month, falling to 48.7 from 51.6.

Treasury Auctions:
1:00 - 7-Year Notes