US pre-open: Stocks to nudge higher ahead of manufacturing data
US stocks looked set to nudge a touch higher at the open on Monday as investors eyed some key manufacturing data.
At 1120 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all up 0.1%.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "It promises to be another very busy week in the markets, with particular focus falling on the economic data, the most notable will come on Friday in the form of the US jobs report.
"We’ll also get a few notable releases on Monday, with the official and ISM manufacturing PMIs being released alongside construction spending figures. Federal Reserve policy maker and FOMC voter Robert Kaplan is also scheduled to appear today and is one of a number of officials due to speak this week."
Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers' index is at 1445 BST, while the ISM manufacturing PMI is at 1500 BST, along with construction spending. Meanwhile, Kaplan is due to take part in a Q&A session at the Fed El Paso branch at 1900 BST.
HSBC expects the ISM manufacturing index to have slipped to 57.7 in September from 58.8 in August.
As far the payrolls report at the end of the week is concerned, it forecasts a 105,000 gain in September, with average hourly earnings up 0.3% on the month and the unemployment rate steady at 4.4%.
"The likely effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the national labour market data are difficult to predict. In 2005, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Massive job losses in the region were readily apparent in the September and October 2005 employment reports," it said.
"In contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics assessed in 2012 that Hurricane Sandy did not have a substantive impact on its estimates for national employment."
Investors in the US were likely to be mulling events further afield, with Spain's IBEX index down sharply after Catalans voted for independence in a referendum that was deemed illegal by Madrid. More than 800 people were hurt on Sunday as riot police clashed with protesters and civilians going to cast their ballots.
Elsewhere, a survey released on Saturday revealed that China's factory activity expended at the fastest pace in five years in September, with the official manufacturing PMI coming in at 52.4 from 51.7 in August. This marked the highest level since April 2012.
On the US corporate front, Oracle Corp could be active after its chairman Larry Ellison guaranteed late on Sunday to offer database warehousing at less than half the price Amazon.com charges.
Walt Disney and Altice USA were also likely to be in focus after reaching a tentative agreement over the weekend to keep Disney's channels on air for millions of subscribers.