Here are the most important news for investors to begin their day of trading:
1. Technical victory
The Nasdaq, which is a stock index focused on tech companies, had a better day on Monday, ending a four-day losing streak by going up a bit. This happened because the yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is a measure of interest rates, went down a little. But the other two major stock indices, the Dow and the S&P 500, didn’t do as well.
The Dow went down by 190 points, and the S&P 500 went down by seven points. Investors are paying attention to the companies reporting their financial results on Tuesday, especially General Motors and Coca-Cola in the morning, and Alphabet and Microsoft later in the day.
About 30% of the companies in the S&P 500 will be announcing their results this week. On Tuesday morning, the futures, which are like bets on the stock market, were looking more positive. You can get the latest updates on the stock market as it happens.
2. The Strike Factor
Let’s take a look at how the strikes by the United Auto Workers (UAW) are affecting the three major car companies in Detroit, often called the “Big Three.”
General Motors, shared some important information this morning while announcing its earnings and revenue for the third quarter. Even though GM has the fewest UAW members on strike compared to Ford and Stellantis, it’s still feeling the impact.
GM stated on Tuesday that these strikes, which began in the middle of September, have caused them to lose more than $800 million in earnings before taxes. But the UAW is likely to focus on a different number as they negotiate for better pay and benefits.
GM’s nearly $3.1 billion profit for the quarter. Ford will release its earnings after the stock market closes on Thursday, and Stellantis will do the same next week.
3. Coca-Cola’s Refreshing Earnings
Coca-Cola announced earnings on Tuesday morning, and they were better than what people expected. This report is important because Coca-Cola has been dealing with a drop in its stock price and concerning changes in consumer habits.
To deal with rising prices for materials, Coca-Cola increased the prices of its products, which made some customers hesitant to buy them. Despite these challenges, Coca-Cola was happy with how well they did in their recent results and even raised their expectations for profits and revenue for the year.
4. Hezbollah in Focus
As Israel continues its military actions against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the world is growing increasingly concerned about the possibility of another conflict to the north. In this region, Israeli forces have exchanged fire with Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group supported by Iran.
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, stated that his country doesn’t want a war with Hezbollah but issued a warning that “Hezbollah is playing with fire.” In a different development, Hamas has released two more Israeli hostages that they had taken during their attacks on Israel on October 7. You can stay updated on these events with live updates.
5. Will We Finally Get a Speaker?
It’s that time again. Congressional Republicans are getting ready to select a new nominee for the position of House Speaker. They have a closed-door vote scheduled for Tuesday morning to decide on their nominee, and a full House vote might happen later in the day.
There are eight candidates in the running, which could make it quite challenging to find a candidate who can unite the GOP caucus, especially since they only have a small majority in the House. (One of the nine candidates, Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, withdrew from the race overnight.)
Additionally, there’s some time pressure as the White House is urgently seeking security funding for Israel and Ukraine, and there’s a potential government shutdown looming on November 17.
Summary
Investors are closely watching as the Nasdaq ends a four-day losing streak while GM reports losses due to UAW strikes, Coca-Cola surpasses earnings expectations, tensions rise in the Israel-Lebanon region, and Congressional Republicans select a House Speaker nominee from a pool of eight candidates amidst budget and security concerns.
