Wall Street was leaning toward modest gains before the opening bell today following back-to-back sell-offs to start a month that’s expected to bring an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, according to the Associated Press. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both up just less than 0.1% before the bell.
Markets continued to digest earnings reports and other corporate news ahead of Friday’s government jobs report.
Verizon shares ticked up 1.2% after the telecom giant announced that it’s buying Frontier Communications in a $20 billion deal to strengthen its fiber network.
Topgolf Callaway jumped 5.3% after the golf equipment company said it intended to spin off its driving range entertainment business, Topgolf, into a separate company. TopGolf accounts for a significant slice of the California company’s revenue, ringing up about $1.8 billion in sales to Callaway’s $2.5 billion in the past four quarters.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was 3.77% early today. That’s down from 4.70% in late April, a significant move for the bond market. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks potential action from the Fed, was also holding at 3.77%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 22 cents to $69.42 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 36 cents to $73.06 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar was trading at 143.50 Japanese yen.
