DJIA Futures: -8 (-0.02%)
SPX Futures: +7 (+0.1%)
NASDAQ Futures: +39 (+0.2%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are mostly higher as the second quarter begins.
Let’s get right to it!
April and a new quarter of trade officially begin on Wall Street today.
All three major indexes are coming off winning first quarters and approaching new records.
The S&P 500 rose 10.2% in the first three months of the year, its best Q1 performance since 2019.
The Dow rose 5.6% during the quarter and the Nasdaq jumped 9.1%.
March was also the fifth consecutive winning month for the major indexes.
The S&P rose 3.1%, the Dow added 2.1%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.8%.
This will be an important week of data focused on the labor market.
Data kicks off with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday.
ADP then releases its private employment report on Wednesday morning and the official March jobs report will be released Friday morning.
3M (MMM) shares are up 2.6% ahead of the open after completing its spinoff of its healthcare business, Solventum (SOLV).
In a statement, 3M’s chairman and CEO said, “Both companies are positioned to pursue their respective growth and tailored capital allocation plans, and I am excited to see both companies succeed as they innovate new solutions and create value for their respective stakeholders.”
MMM shareholders received one SOLV share for every four shares of 3M common stock they held at the close on March 18, 2024.
3M also announced its $12.5 billion settlement agreement with U.S. public water suppliers received final approval from a U.S. District Court.
The settlement is related to the company’s role in contaminated drinking water with PFAS.
The CEO said, “The final approval of this settlement and continued progress toward exiting all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025 will further our efforts to reduce risk and uncertainty as we move forward.”
Gold prices are extending the recent Fed-induced rally, hitting a fresh record high this morning.
Spot gold added 0.6% to trade as high as $2,245.79 per ounce while U.S. gold futures are currently up more than 1.5% at $2.272.80 per ounce.
The recent rally was spurred by Fed rate cut expectations following the dovish dot plot and Chairman’s press conference in March.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, rose 2.8% year over year in February.
That data was released Friday while the market was closed for Good Friday but was in line with expectations.