Investing.com– U.S. stock futures oscillated around the flatline on Monday, paring back some earlier gains, as investors digested the implications of an eleventh-hour deal to prevent a U.S. government shutdown over the weekend and looked ahead to fresh economic data this week. The last-minute — and broadly unexpected — agreement forged on Capitol Hill will keep the government open until November 17, although disagreements remain in Congress over funding for Ukraine and border security reforms.
At 06:47 ET (10:47 GMT), the Dow futures contract had dipped 20 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were mostly unchanged, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 26 points or 0.2%. The main indices were mixed in the final day of September trading on Friday, although all three slipped on a monthly basis. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite in particular dropped to their worst month of 2023 so far. However, the indices are up for the year, highlighting the strength of a rally several months ago that was driven by soaring enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence.
Traders will be keeping an eye on fresh economic numbers on both manufacturing activity and construction spending due out on Monday, as markets continue to track the development of the U.S. economy and gauge the potential path ahead for Federal Reserve monetary policy. Headlining the data calendar this week will be the key September jobs report on Friday, with economists predicting that the U.S. added fewer jobs during the month compared to August. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at 11:00 ET at a roundtable discussion with small business owners.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Hasker and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester are also slated to make remarks during the day. Cryptocurrency stocks in focus Shares in crypto-related stocks such as Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) spiked in premarket trading, reflecting a surge in Bitcoin’s price to near two-month highs. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s (NASDAQ:COIN) shares also rose after the company announced that its Singapore arm had obtained a license to offer digital payment token services to individuals and institutions in the city-state.
Oil climbs amid tight supply outlook Oil prices moved higher on Monday, supported by concerns over a tight supply picture and relief that the U.S. government avoided a potentially damaging shutdown. By 06:48 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% higher at $91.78 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.1% to $93.25. B
olstered by a decision by Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend output reductions until the end of the year, crude prices jumped by almost 30% in the third quarter. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, also known as OPEC+, will likely not change its production policy at a closely-watched meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Wednesday, Reuters has reported. “We do not believe that the group will change its output policy,” analysts at ING said in a note. “However, what is possible (and a JMMC meeting is not needed for this), is Saudi Arabia starting to ease its additional voluntary supply cut of [one million] [barrels per day].”
Separately, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais noted on Monday that oil demand is expected to remain “resilient” over the rest of 2023, a prediction that was boosted by strong factory activity figures out of top oil importer China.
