October ISM manufacturing index, auto sales could give clue to economy in final 2003 quarter.
U.S. stock markets awaited readings on manufacturing and auto sales Monday to get a first look the economy's fourth-quarter performance after last week's third-quarter growth numbers were the best in nearly two decades.
Just after 7:35 a.m. ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures pointed to a higher start on Wall Street.
Their first clue to the economy's performance in October is due Monday with the purchasing managers' reading on manufacturing activity.
Economists expect the The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index rose to 55.8 from September's 53.7, according to average forecasts compiled by Briefing.com. Anything above 50 signals expansion in the manufacturing sector.
Also due Monday: car and truck sales, forecast to be fairly steady with September's pace, and September construction spending, seen up 0.2 percent growth -- even with August's pace.
The data will be closely watched after the economy's strong third-quarter performance topped expectations..
Gross domestic product grew at a 7.2 percent clip, the fastest pace since 1984, the government reported late last week. GDP is the broadest measure of the nation's economy.
Stocks wrapped up an upbeat week and an unusually strong October in a quiet session Friday.
And with most corporate earnings reports behind us, S&P 500 profits look like they grew by at least 21 percent over last year in the quarter -- the best growth since 2000.
But a few big names, including Kellogg (K: Research, Estimates), Metlife (MET: Research, Estimates) and Nationwide Financial (NFS: Research, Estimates), were set to report Monday.
Tech could get a lift helped by Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates), which said before the open it was seeing signs of a rebound in technology spending in the financial services and telecoms sectors, two industries key to the struggling network computer maker. Shares of Sun closed Friday at $3.95.
Overseas, Hong Kong led Asian markets higher Monday, with Tokyo closed for a holiday. Stocks traded higher in Europe at midday there.
The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.
Treasury prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up to 4.32 percent from 4.29 percent late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.
Brent crude oil futures rose 20 cents to $27.54 a barrel in London.
Friday's October employment report will be the key number of the week. Economists forecast that the economy added 50,000 jobs in October, against a 57,000 gain in September. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 6.1 percent.
For the stock market, solid economic reports may not be enough to juice things along. Even unexpectedly good news, like that big third-quarter GDP report Thursday, have done little to move the market, suggesting that investors are as fully invested as they're going to get -- at least for now.
"We had a bucketful of good news, but it was already reflected in stock prices," Credit Suisse Asset Management managing director Stan Nabi said last week. "The market is going to lay back for a bit."
U.S. stock markets awaited readings on manufacturing and auto sales Monday to get a first look the economy's fourth-quarter performance after last week's third-quarter growth numbers were the best in nearly two decades.
Just after 7:35 a.m. ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures pointed to a higher start on Wall Street.
Their first clue to the economy's performance in October is due Monday with the purchasing managers' reading on manufacturing activity.
Economists expect the The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index rose to 55.8 from September's 53.7, according to average forecasts compiled by Briefing.com. Anything above 50 signals expansion in the manufacturing sector.
Also due Monday: car and truck sales, forecast to be fairly steady with September's pace, and September construction spending, seen up 0.2 percent growth -- even with August's pace.
The data will be closely watched after the economy's strong third-quarter performance topped expectations..
Gross domestic product grew at a 7.2 percent clip, the fastest pace since 1984, the government reported late last week. GDP is the broadest measure of the nation's economy.
Stocks wrapped up an upbeat week and an unusually strong October in a quiet session Friday.
And with most corporate earnings reports behind us, S&P 500 profits look like they grew by at least 21 percent over last year in the quarter -- the best growth since 2000.
But a few big names, including Kellogg (K: Research, Estimates), Metlife (MET: Research, Estimates) and Nationwide Financial (NFS: Research, Estimates), were set to report Monday.
Tech could get a lift helped by Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates), which said before the open it was seeing signs of a rebound in technology spending in the financial services and telecoms sectors, two industries key to the struggling network computer maker. Shares of Sun closed Friday at $3.95.
Overseas, Hong Kong led Asian markets higher Monday, with Tokyo closed for a holiday. Stocks traded higher in Europe at midday there.
The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.
Treasury prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up to 4.32 percent from 4.29 percent late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.
Brent crude oil futures rose 20 cents to $27.54 a barrel in London.
Friday's October employment report will be the key number of the week. Economists forecast that the economy added 50,000 jobs in October, against a 57,000 gain in September. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 6.1 percent.
For the stock market, solid economic reports may not be enough to juice things along. Even unexpectedly good news, like that big third-quarter GDP report Thursday, have done little to move the market, suggesting that investors are as fully invested as they're going to get -- at least for now.
"We had a bucketful of good news, but it was already reflected in stock prices," Credit Suisse Asset Management managing director Stan Nabi said last week. "The market is going to lay back for a bit."
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