Futures inch lower before reports
Stocks are little-changed before a busy week of economic data.
S&P 500 futures are down 0.1 percent, while most of Europe rose about half a percent. Asia mostly declined on poor economic data overnight, led by drops of more than 1 percent in Shanghai and Seoul. Oil continues lower as well.
Today brings three noteworthy reports: Personal income and spending at 8:30 a.m. ET. Then the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index and construction spending both follow at 10 a.m. ET. Key jobs numbers are also due Wednesday and Friday. (See researchLAB's interactive calendar for more.)
The S&P 500 has drifted all year following big rallies in 2013 and 2014. While employment trends have strengthened in the U.S., other measures of economic activity have lagged recently. Consumer confidence, gross domestic product, and revised consumer sentiment all missed estimates last week. The Federal Reserve also declined to provide guidance on when interest rates will increase, which lifted bond prices and weighed on financials.
Energy stocks have also broken to new lows, hurt by falling oil prices, and poor results at Exxon Mobil and Chevron. A weakening Chinese economy, highlighted today by the weakest manufacturing numbers in two years, has also weighed on energy.
Housing stocks, providers of building materials, and utilities have benefited from the lower borrowing costs. researchLAB shows money flowing into restaurants, networking stocks, providers of contracted electronics-manufacturing services, and shipping firms as well. Precious metals, solar energy, and Chinese stocks have fared the worst.
In company-specific news, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals surged 20 percent after reporting positive Phase 3 data for its prospective cancer treatment. Tyson Foods dropped 7 percent after earnings missed estimates and management lowered guidance. Frontier Communications rose 8 percent on strong quarterly revenue.
The earnings calendar remains active this afternoon, with American International Group, Community Health, Avis Budget, and Tenet Healthcare scheduled to report.
Commodities are down once again. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4 percent, and European Brent slid 2 percent. Copper and silver fell 0.8 percent, and gold is down 0.5 percent. The U.S. dollar is up against most other currencies as well.
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