Ahead of the start of today’s trading on Wall Street, futures indices are slightly up, thanks to a further decline in interbank lending rates.
The Dow Jones futures index was up 52 points around 2 PM, while the Nasdaq index gained 2 points. The S&P futures index is up 3 points and above its fair value, a mathematical formula that determines prices taking into account interest rates, dividends, and the maturity of the futures contract. Interbank money market rates have been falling for 17 consecutive days, indicating that central bank interventions are yielding results and that the situation in that market is gradually normalizing.
However, analysts expect cautious trading as several important economic data points are expected today, such as those from the Institute for Supply Management regarding trends in the manufacturing and service sectors. Additionally, investors are on alert as elections for the new occupant of the White House are taking place tomorrow. Democratic candidate Barack Obama is leading Republican John McCain in all polls."It seems we will have a president from the Democratic Party, which the market has likely already factored into stock prices.
Due to the elections and new statistical data, stock indices are likely to move within a narrow range", says Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Avalon Partners. European markets are also trading very cautiously today. The London FTSE index was slightly down around 2 PM, while the Frankfurt DAX and Paris CAC indices were up 0.6 and 0.2 percent, respectively. (Hina)
