Take Five: It's Q4 already?
SPY•Investors face a week of U.S. payrolls and inflation data, euro zone inflation figures and Micron earnings as markets assess interest-rate expectations. September U.S. payrolls are expected to rise by 100,000, with unemployment at 4.2%.
1. Markets enter Q4
The fourth quarter begins against turbulent bond markets, while major global stock indexes remain less than 2% below record highs and are up more than 12% this year. The article cites the Iran war, fiscal concerns and AI-related borrowing as factors rattling bond markets.
2. Key data ahead
The September U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is due Friday, with economists expecting 100,000 jobs added and a 4.2% unemployment rate. Wednesday's Personal Consumption Expenditures price index and Friday's euro zone inflation data will offer further clues on price trends and interest rates. Futures pricing points to roughly even odds of a quarter-point Federal Reserve rate increase in October.
3. Micron and Australia
Micron Technology is due to report earnings Wednesday after the bell. Its shares have fallen more than 6% during the quarter, and investors will watch its guidance for signals on AI infrastructure spending and memory-chip demand. Markets and economists expect Australia's Reserve Bank to raise rates by a quarter point Tuesday, which would take the rate to 4.6%.
