Stock Market Today: Middle Kingdom mania as China stocks surge

Stocks open mixed. The S&P Five hundred opened lower by four points, the NASDAQ opened higher by 32 points, and the Dow Jones Industrials is up 0.45% in early trading.

Middle Kingdom mania. China stocks are back in vogue. Shares have zoomed higher after the regime highlighted stimulative policy in the wake of Fed rate cuts.

I'm Eyeing These 3 Chinese Stocks because the Bulls Lead Us Out of September
China unleashed stimulus that would create opportunities in a considerable collection of speculative small caps; U.S. earnings season will kick off soon; and then we will then look toward the following Fed meeting.…— James DePorre (@RevShark) September 30, 2024

The Shanghai Index surged eight% at present time, its best performance since 2008, and rallied about 23% from its mid-September low. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF KWEB owns Chinese software and data technology stocks. It’s up 37% since its late August low.

Fed officials will likely be busy this week. Sure, the September rate decision is over, but the media junket is in full swing. Chairman Powell is scheduled to speak at 1:Fifty five pm EST on Monday.

He’s now no longer by myself. Fed heads Cook, Barkin, Bostic, Collins, Hammack, Musalem, Bowman, Kashkari, and Williams all have speeches on the docket this week. Put concentration to what they're saying because any insight into what happens when the Fed meets next in November may move the market.

Prepare. Jobs data lands this week, and everyone will likely be staring at. The Fed’s rate cuts were partly, arguably largely, owing to be troubled that unemployment is creeping higher. That’s true, but we remain at four.2% unemployment – that’s pretty darn good.

Related: Jobs and Fed officials may rock stocks this week

If job losses tick higher, recession chatter will grow. Of course, economists will likely be parsing the numbers from ADP on Wednesday, jobless claims on Thursday, and unemployment on Friday for clues as as to whether the Fed will go big again in November. If jobs data disappoints, the probabilities of another half-point cut may climb.

I’ve hesitated to claim this on the chance of sounding hyperbolic, but with last week’s big GDP revisions, there can even be no denying it: It truly is most of the correct performing economies in my 35+ years as an economist. Economic growth is rip-roaring, with real GDP up 3% over the last year.…— Mark Zandi (@Markzandi) September 29, 2024

Lower the bar. Evercore ISI and Truist did a wholesale reset on energy stocks, dropping price targets for many big E&P companies. The culprit? Increased fear that lower oil prices will last longer than in the past thought. Let's say, Truist cut its ExxonMobil (XOM) target to $117 from $121, while Evercore lowered its target on Occidental Petroleum (OXY) to $sixty three from $sixty seven.

Related: The 10 best investing books, in line with our stock market pros