Tuesday November 22nd

U.S. stock markets index futures rose Tuesday morning as worries over Covid cases in China kept investor sentiment in check. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 75 points, or 0.22%. S&P 500 futures were 0.24% higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.16%. Shares of Best Buy popped 7.3% in premarket trading after the company hiked its 2023 fiscal outlook and beat earnings expectations. China saw its first deaths in the mainland from Covid since May over the weekend. It prompted fears among investors that the country could bring back restrictions meant to slow virus spread, which would hurt business. The news out of China pushed investors away from growth stocks Monday and toward defensive sectors like health care and utilities, said David Waddell, CEO of Waddell & Associates. He said it also led to “reflexive” U.S. dollar buying, which gave bond yields upward pressure. “On low volume days like today, the market gets Pavlovian,” he said. “If you want to make sense of this market, watch the dollar. Stocks are coming off a down session, with the Dow losing 45 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively. Losses on the Dow were kept in check by a 6.3% gain in Disney following the return of Bob Iger as CEO. On Tuesday, several Federal Reserve officials are set to speak, including Kansas City Fed President Esther George and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. Economic reports due out include the Philadelphia Fed’s nonmanufacturing business outlook survey and the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing index. Investors are also watching for earnings reports from Dollar Tree, Best Buy, HP and Nordstrom. The stock market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and will close early on Friday. Shares in the Asia-Pacific mostly fell on Monday amid growing Covid concerns in China as its central bank kept the benchmark lending rates, or loan prime rates, on hold — in line with expectations. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 2.02% in its final hour of trade, leading losses in the wider region. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.39% to 3,085.04 and the Shenzhen Component also fell 0.411% to 11,134.47. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.17% lower at 7,139.30. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.02% to 2,419.50. The Nikkei 225 in Japan bucked the regional trend and was up 0.16% at 27,944.79 at the close, while the Topix gained 0.28% to 1,972.57. Oil rose on Tuesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said OPEC+ was sticking with output cuts and could take further steps to balance the market, outweighing global recession worries and concern about China’s rising Covid-19 case numbers. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday was also quoted by state news agency SPA as denying a Wall Street Journal report that said OPEC was considering boosting output and sent prices plunging by more than 5%. Brent crude rose $1.20, or 1.4%, to $88.65. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up $1.12, or 1.4%, at $81.18. Gold prices snapped a four-session slump to rise on Tuesday, propped up by a retreat in the dollar while investors awaited cues on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path. Spot gold was up 0.6% at $1,747.82 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,748.90.