Bitcoin price today: slips below $113k, near 6-wk low despite Fed cut bets
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures inch up as investors assess weak jobs data, trade announcements, and the outlook for Federal Reserve interest rates. Strong earnings offer markets somewhat of a bulwark against signs of U.S. economic cooling and uncertainty over the impact of Washington’s tariff agenda. Meanwhile, a write-down in its stake of Kraft-Heinz hit income at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa).
1. Futures higher
U.S. stock futures pointed higher on Monday following a sharp sell-off at the end of the prior week, as the prospect of lower interest rates helped to assuage worries over the U.S. economy.
By 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT), the Dow futures contract had risen by 128 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures had climbed by 24 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had increased by 102 points, or 0.4%.
The main averages on Wall Street sank on Friday, with the benchmark S&P 500 in particular slipping to its worst day in more than two months. Weighing on sentiment were President Donald Trump’s announcement of elevated tariffs on a range of trading partners as well as a soft jobs report which featured heavy downward revisions that suggested a deeper slowdown in the American labor market than initally anticipated.
Trump added to the selling pressure after he dismissed the head of the statistics bureau charged with compiling the jobs data, arguing -- without evidence -- that the numbers were "rigged." Analysts flagged that the firing casts doubt over the longstanding reliability of U.S. economic data, with some noting concerns that Trump’s replacement could be more keen to please the White House than provide scrupulous figures.
Markets reacted to the July employment survey by ratcheting up their expectations for a Federal Reserve borrowing cost cut as soon as September, although media reports suggested that many Fed policymakers are not yet shifting their stance in an aggressively dovish direction, choosing instead to wait for further data to be released.
2. Earnings ahead
Also offering support to stocks has been a broadly solid corporate earnings season, which has helped to underline the staying power of a multi-year boom in enthusiasm around the applications of artificial intelligence.
Big-name tech companies like Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and software group Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have delivered blowout results in recent days and, perhaps more notably, backed their plans for massive capital expenditures on AI.
These statements have tamped down some lingering fears over the impact of Trump’s tariffs, although a selection of firms have begun to hint that price hikes could be coming in the months ahead.
Still, with more than half of the businesses in the S&P 500 having reported, year-on-year earnings growth for the second quarter is seen at 9.8%, compared with an estimated uptick of 5.8% on July 1, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. More than 80% of the companies that have reported have topped analysts’ profit expectations, versus an average of 76% in the past four quarters.
This week, markets will be keeping an eye on earnings from the likes of economic bellwether Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), burger titan McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), and media giant Disney (NYSE:DIS). All of the firms are large members of the blue-chip Dow, which is now hovering just below its record high notched in December.
3. Berkshire Hathaway results
Berkshire Hathaway has posted a $3.76 billion write-down on its stake in consumer food company Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), while a fall in insurance underwriting premiums also dented second-quarter returns from Warren Buffett’s sprawling conglomerate.
Along with tepid gains from common stocks such as American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the Kraft-Heinz write-down and premiums drop contributed to a steep decline in overall net profit to $12.37 billion from $30.35 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue also fell by 1.2% to $92.5 bilion.
Still, Berkshire was boosted by an almost 20% jump in operating income at its BNSF unit that stemmed in large part from cost-cutting and lower fuel expenses.
Berkshire’s cash pile at the end of the second quarter stood at $344 billion, down slightly from $348 billion in the previous three-month period but near an all-time record high.
The earnings come as Berkshire looks ahead to the upcoming departure of the 94-year old Buffett. He will step down at the end of 2025 from his long-time post at the helm of a business that has turned him into a household name in financial markets, with current Vice Chair Greg Abel set to succeed him.
4. Crude steady despite OPEC+ production hike
Oil prices steadied Monday, even after a group of top producers agreed to another large production hike in September, adding to global supply.
At 03:10 ET, Brent futures slipped 0.2% to $69.80 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.3% to $67.53 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September.
The move, in line with market expectations, marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+’s largest tranche of output cuts, amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand.
5. Spot gold price dips
Gold prices were mixed in early European trading on Monday, as investors booked some profits following a rise in the prior session fueled by expectations for Fed interest rate cuts.
Spot gold had fallen 0.2% to $3,355.69 an ounce, while gold futures for December gained 0.3% to $3,408.67/oz by 03:34 ET.
Gold prices jumped over 2% on Friday, after the weak jobs data sparked hopes for a Fed rate reduction in September. The rally in the yellow metal, which tends to do well in a lower-rate environment, helped carry it to a weekly gain after two straight weeks of declines.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin moved higher by 0.8% to $114,567.60, steadying after slipping by roughly 3% over the past five days.