US open: Wall Street edges higher ahead of Fed speakers
US stocks are registering slight gains in a light day in terms of fresh economic data with investors waiting on the start of the corporate earnings season later in the week and the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.
At 2000 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.22% or 49.02 points ahead to 22,810.09, alongside a rise of 0.15% or 3.91 points to 2,548.65 and a 0.03% gain for the Nasdaq Composite to 6,582.16.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "US markets should be a touch more active today, as normal service resumes after Columbus Day.
"Energy stocks should see some support as OPEC continues to air the idea of production cuts, but their appeal to US shale producers to limit their output is an interesting titbit, revealing the increasing worry OPEC has about their inability to meaningfully rebalance the oil market. Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 22,782, up 21 points from Monday's close."
In terms of Fedspeak, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan was to appear in a moderated discussion at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy research after the closing bell on Wall Street.
On the economic front, the National Federation of Independent Business index of small business activity fell to a 10-month low of 103.0 in September from 105.3 the month before, missing expectations for a reading of 105.0.
Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The sharp drop in the headline index suggests that small firms have reacted much more negatively to the hurricanes than bigger businesses. Most of the damage is in the sentiment numbers, with sales expectations down 12 points, good time to expand down 10 points, and economic expectations down 6 points.
"This drop in sentiment filtered into capex plans, which dropped by 5 points. We expect all these numbers to rebound over the next few months, as the hurricane hit fades."
In corporate news, Procter & Gamble was trading lower ahead of an annual general meeting later during which a proxy vote among shareholders would decide whether Trian Fund Management’s chief executive, Nelson Peltz, gets a seat on the board.
Walt Disney was also making headlines after releasing the latest trailer for 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'.
However, it was on Wednesday that things would really really kick off, with earnings reports from the likes of BlackRock and Delta Air Lines together with the latest FOMC minutes.
Dow Jones - Risers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $84.18 6.56%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $119.18 1.84%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $148.70 1.52%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $161.49 1.18%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.62 1.11%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.18 0.77%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $127.85 0.72%
American Express Co. (AXP) $92.17 0.68%
Visa Inc. (V) $107.42 0.65%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.74 0.55%
Dow Jones - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.80 -2.44%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $51.51 -1.73%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $194.74 -1.68%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $90.92 -1.53%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $242.51 -1.43%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $39.39 -1.18%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.22 -0.85%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $96.38 -0.56%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $164.96 -0.54%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $33.62 -0.40%
S&P 500 - Risers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $84.18 6.56%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $68.48 4.95%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $53.08 4.90%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $53.49 3.80%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $15.35 3.44%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.66 3.39%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $64.66 3.37%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $114.60 2.99%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $67.34 2.61%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $13.50 2.43%
S&P 500 - Fallers
DaVita Inc (DVA) $54.31 -9.22%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $14.65 -6.45%
Apache Corp. (APA) $43.01 -4.77%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $24.82 -4.72%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $73.42 -4.55%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $77.08 -3.41%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $27.47 -3.38%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $31.59 -3.17%
Stryker Corp. (SYK) $144.35 -3.12%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $12.99 -3.02%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $53.07 4.88%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $260.25 3.18%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $39.94 2.65%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $28.57 1.82%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $211.49 1.77%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $188.55 1.70%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $157.17 1.66%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $85.55 1.52%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $89.67 1.47%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $347.88 1.44%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $31.49 -3.49%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $54.05 -2.26%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $69.56 -1.84%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $58.18 -1.76%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $57.12 -1.67%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $45.25 -1.18%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $39.40 -1.17%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.46 -1.15%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $272.63 -1.09%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $194.97 -0.97%