Wall Street pointed modestly lower early today after Congress narrowly averted a U.S. government shutdown with a last-minute, weekend compromise, the Associated Press reports. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials each ticked down about 0.2% before the opening bell Monday.
After the worst month for markets this year, October begins with a slew of employment data. Reports on job openings, layoffs, and the comprehensive monthly jobs report on Friday will give investors and economists new details on the country’s labor market, which has largely held up better than expected as the Federal Reserve cranked up interest rates in an effort to bring down inflation.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.64% early this morning, again near its highest level since 2007. The yield on the two-year Treasury jumped to 5.1%.
Treasurys are seen as some of the safest investments possible, and when they pay higher yields, investors are less likely to pay high prices for stocks and other riskier investments. That’s a big reason why the S&P 500 dropped 4.9% in September to drag what had been a big gain for the year down to 11.7%.
Oil prices have jumped to their highest level in more than a year, which is pressuring the economy by raising fuel costs for everyone. Early today, U.S. crude was up 45 cents to $91.24 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 60 cents to $92.80 per barrel.
In currency trading today, the dollar rose to 149.74 Japanese yen from 149.38 yen.
