Investing.com -- Global stocks continue to sell off after weak manufacturing data, while the House clashes with the State Department over Ukrainegate and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) gets the third-quarter earnings season off to a poor start. Here's what you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, 2nd October.
1. A synchronized slowdown
Wall Street is set for more heavy losses at the opening Wednesday after the weakest ISM PMI reading in 10 years suggested heavily that the U.S. hasn’t been spared the slowdown in manufacturing suffered by China and Europe.
At 6 AM ET, the Dow Futures contract was down 172 points or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 Futures contract was down 19 points or 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 Futures contract was down 0.8%.
Global stocks had extended their losses overnight. While Chinese markets remain closed for the national holiday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% and the STOXX 600 was down 1.4% after morning trading in Europe.
ADP’s monthly payrolls report at 8:15 AM ET (1215 GMT) will show how broadly the slowdown is affecting hiring, while speeches from Philly Fed President Patrick Harker and his New York counterpart John Williams may indicate whether the data has moved the Fed’s dial towards further easing.
2. Impeachment tension rises
The economic backdrop is gloomy enough even without the threat of political instability in Washington, but that seems increasingly hard to avoid.
The House of Representatives prepares for a clash with the State Department over its attempts to depose two officials in relation to allegations that President Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to help him dig dirt on the son of his likeliest opponent in next year’s elections, Joe Biden.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote to House leaders saying he wouldn’t allow his officials to be “bullied” into testifying without proper preparation.
Investors have reacted by seeking safety in Treasury bonds. The 2-Year yield has now fallen to 1.54%, while the 10-year note now yields 1.63% and the 30-year 2.09%.
3. WTO to update on Boeing-Airbus
The World Trade Organization is due to announce at 10 AM ET (1400 GMT) how much the U.S. is entitled to levy in tariffs against the EU in retaliation for illegal launch aid given by the Europeans to Airbus.
The ruling prepares the way for the Trump administration to open a new front in the U.S.’s multiple trade disputes, although whether it will wish to pursue that opportunity with its customary gusto – given the increasingly harsh impact on the global economy so close to the election campaign – remains an open question.
4. Johnson’s plans trigger Brexit mini-panic
Europe’s stock markets had more than just the ISM survey to worry about overnight, as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s draft plans to break the deadlock over Brexit met with a chilly response from Ireland and the EU.
In a rare move, both the pound and the U.K. stock market fell in tandem (usually the export-sensitive FTSE 100 rises when the pound falls), as investors girded themselves for an increasingly likely “No Deal” scenario.
Johnson is set to wind up the Conservative Party’s conference later with a speech that will reportedly cast the offer as a “take it or leave it” deal to the EU, hoping that the euro zone’s acute slowdown will cause the EU to blink at the last minute.
5. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) warns on profit; EIA data due
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) cast a pall over the upcoming earnings season with a warning that operating profits fell last quarter for the fourth consecutive quarter in the three months to September. A regulatory filing showed all three of its major businesses slumping from a year ago.
In part that’s due to lower oil prices, the outlook for which will be fleshed out later by the U.S. government’s oil stocks data for last week. API figures released Tuesday showed a surprising and sharp drop in crude inventories, putting a floor under WTI futures after a precipitous slide in recent days.
Exxon (NYSE:XOM) also bemoaned weaker results in its chemical business and the lack of a tax benefit from the year-ago period. Its official results are due Oct. 31. The warnings come amid signs of a sharp slowdown in U.S. crude output growth due to lower prices.