US markets enter winter time; focus on midterms, earnings, jobs data
US markets switch to winter time from Monday. This week's focus includes the US midterm election results, corporate earnings from Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, and others, and Friday's non-farm payrolls data expected to show 65,000 new jobs.
The United States has entered winter time, and from Monday US stock markets will open at 10:30 pm Hong Kong time and close at 5:00 am the following day.
In October, the three major US indexes showed divergent performances. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7 per cent over the month, while the S&P 500 fell more than 0.9 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 5.3 per cent.
Market attention this week is focused on the results of the US midterm elections. Numerous companies are also set to report earnings, including Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, Coherent and Lumentum. According to reports, Marvell is in talks to acquire Lumentum, aiming for vertical integration of chip and optical technologies.
Several economic data releases are scheduled this week. Markets are watching Friday's non-farm payrolls report for October, which is expected to show an increase of 65,000 jobs, up from 29,000 in September. The unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 4.2 per cent. Other data include the manufacturing and services Purchasing Managers' Indexes, factory orders and construction spending.
Additionally, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of England are set to announce their interest rate decisions on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.