US stocks opened higher on Monday, continuing their positive momentum from the previous week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, benchmark S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average all climbed around 0.3% shortly after the opening bell. The market was buoyed by optimism that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. This comes after US jobs growth slowed more than expected and wage inflation cooled, leading many to believe that the Fed will halt its tightening measures. Investors will be closely watching for confirmation from several Fed officials who are scheduled to speak this week.
However, some on Wall Street have warned that the optimism may be overdone and have cautioned investors to brace for volatility in stocks. Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson believes last week’s stock rally is more of a bear market rally rather than the start of a sustained upswing. Despite this sentiment, the market still has a stream of quarterly earnings reports to look forward to, with Disney’s results being the highlight. In commodities, oil prices jumped after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia confirmed that they will continue with their voluntary additional production cuts.
In premarket trading, several stocks were trending on Yahoo Finance’s tickers page. Tesla saw its shares rise over 1% after announcing plans to build a $26,838 car at its factory near Berlin. BioNTech’s shares rose over 3% despite cutting its 2023 revenue target due to lower demand for its Covid vaccine. Dish Network, on the other hand, saw its shares fall by over 6% after reporting a decrease in revenue for the third quarter and the CEO announcing he would step down. Lyft shares rose after the ride-hailing company stated that price cuts have helped it gain market share from Uber.
Overall, stock futures suggest that the major US stock gauges will continue to build on last week’s gains. Investor confidence remains high that the Federal Reserve is finished with rate hikes, leading to a positive market outlook in the new week.