Stock market futures were expected to start the new quarter broadly unchanged on Monday, after US politicians delayed the government shutdown and at the same time Wall Street assessed China's economic forecast as deteriorating.
S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average stock futures lost after leading to trade flat. The Nasdaq 100 was even higher, up 0.17%.
In a surprise twist, Congress on Saturday decided to extend the government shutdown. This gives some relief to investors who are worried about the threat of a significant impact on the economy and the stock market.
Among other things, major indicators still face another obstacle that could push the stock market to losses for the quarter with the Federal Reserve's message that rates will remain high surprising investors. Oil prices and bond yields are still rising, adding pressure to the stock market.
Some believe that the US funding agreement is expected to increase expectations that the Fed will raise rates in November.
Elsewhere, the World Bank downgraded its outlook for China's growth in 2024, although it maintained its forecast for 2023. This indirectly fueled concerns about demand in the world's second-largest economy. The bank pointed to its failure to fully recover from the impact of the pandemic and the ongoing debt crisis in its real estate sector.
Also of primary concern is the strike in the Automotive sector. Auto companies are scheduled to report earnings data for the quarter, and the numbers will be closely monitored to assess the impact of the strike.
Meanwhile, investors are also paying attention to the September US jobs report on Friday.
