FX.co ★ US premarket on Oct 11: Equities traded in the red due to energy prices

US stock index futures started the week slightly in the red as many traders are concerned about skyrocketing energy prices and the start of the reporting season.

Dow Jones Industrial Index futures fell 71 points or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.6%. As I noted above, WTI crude jumped more than 3% and surpassed $82 a barrel on Monday morning, pushing energy stocks higher on pre-market. The leaders were Occidental Petroleum, Diamondback Energy, and Chevron. The banking sector is also trading in positive territory, as investors are determined to have good financial statements for the third quarter of this year. Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs can be distinguished. This week the major banks will release their third quarter P&L reports. JPMorgan Chase is to publish a report on Wednesday, followed by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup later in the week.

The US bond market is closed on Monday for Columbus Day

Last week was very volatile for the American stock market, but according to the results of the Dow rose by 1.2%, which was its best week since June 25. The S&P 500 also traded in the green as Congress approved a short-term debt ceiling deal. On Friday, investors' sentiments were spoiled by a weak report on Friday's employment. The Labor Department said the economy added just 194,000 jobs in September, with a forecast of 500,000. Bad data, if any, will likely have little effect on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy plans. On the plus side, the unemployment rate itself fell to 4.8%.

Now let's take a quick look at the premarket and see who made the most interesting moves:

Southwest Airlines, which canceled more than 1,800 flights over the weekend, is losing value. The company cited bad weather, problems with air traffic control, and a lack of staff. Southwest has denied rumors that the high cancellation rate compared to other airlines was fueled by employee protests over the introduction of the Covid-19 vaccine. Southwest shares fell 2.8% in premarket trading.

On the fintech side, SoFi Technologies rallied 3.1% premarket after Morgan Stanley revised the company's rating, calling it a "strong record of earnings growth" as the company has gained a fairly large market share in consumer finance.

Apple, meanwhile, asked a judge to postpone changes to the App Store that would require developers to bypass Apple's in-app payments. The changes are related to the case with Epic Games and are due to take effect on December 9, but Apple is asking for an appeal before that period. The company's shares reacted little at the premarket.

Everyone's favorite caffeine chain Starbucks is trading in positive territory. Shares gained 1% premarket after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold, citing "incredible" US performance and the prospect of sustained growth in China.

As for the technical picture of the S&P500 index, all efforts of buyers to stay above $4,394 last week failed. With the market opening, it will be possible to quickly win back the observed gap. In this case, the buyers of the trading instrument can count on the renewal of the maximums in the region of $4,436 and the exit to the levels of $4,478 and $4,529. If the pressure on the index persists at the beginning of the week, and this option is not excluded before the start of the reporting season, the nearest support will be the area of $4,344, and a larger level is seen around $4,288.