US Stocks Keep Calm Ahead Of Midterms As Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Surge — Tesla, Nvidia, Lyft, Take-Two In Focus

Trading in the U.S. index futures points to a modestly positive start on Wall Street on Tuesday even as traders look ahead to the results of the midterm elections scheduled for the day. The results have implications for the policies of the government and in turn spending.

On Monday, the major averages closed uniformly higher, extending the upward momentum from Friday. A majority of sectors advanced during the session, with beaten-down technology stocks leading from the front. On the other hand, utility, consumer discretionary and real estate stocks came under selling pressure.

“With 90% of S&P earnings in, the focus will turn back to macro expectations as analysts sharpen their pencils for adjustments to 4Q21 estimates and start making preliminary estimates for overall 2023 growth rates,” said fund manager Louis Navellier.

The analyst recommends that investors should focus on opportunities that should hold up best if the bears are right in the short term. He sees a 10% drop in S&P estimates for 2023 brought on by a Fed-induced recession.

Here’s a peek into index futures trading:

In premarket trading on Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.26% to $380.92 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ gained 0.50% to $268.93, according to Benzinga Pro data.

The economic calendar of the day is fairly light and is devoid of any market-moving economic data.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for October is due at 6 a.m. EST, with economists looking for a slight slip back in the index from 92.1 in September to 91.3.

The Redbook Index, a sales-weighted year-over-year sales growth in a sample of large general merchandise retailers, representing about 9,000 stores, will be released at 8:55 a.m. EST.

At 9 a.m. EST, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, which is a consumer confidence measure, is due.

The Treasury will auction three-year notes, also at 9 a.m. EST.

Stocks In Focus:

• Lyft, Inc. LYFT tumbled nearly 20% in premarket trading after it reported below-consensus revenue for the third quarter.
• TripAdvisor, Inc. TRIP also fell over 19% in reaction to its mixed quarterly results.
• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. TTWO shares slumped over 18% on topline miss and weak guidance.
• Infrastructure software vendor Five9, Inc. FIVN plunged on disappointing guidance.
• Tesla, Inc. TSLA was recovering from Monday’s 5% drop.
• Nvidia Corp. NVDA advanced over a percent after it reportedly started to ship a new chip to sidestep U.S. ban on China exports.

Commodities, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were down for a third straight session, with Tuesday seeing a drop of about 1% to a little under the $91-a-barrel mark.

The Asia-Pacific markets meandered to a mixed close on Tuesday, with the Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese markets advancing strongly. The Hong Kong, Chinese, Indonesian and Malaysian markets came under selling pressure.

The major averages in Europe opened lower ahead of the U.S. elections but have cut their losses by late morning trading and traded on a mixed note.

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