IXIC: Nasdaq Futures Rise as Tech Shares Gain Ahead of Election Day, Fed Decision

Big things coming up: Election Day tomorrow and Fed’s rate decision on deck for Thursday. Volatility is expected to pick up.

• Futures contracts tied to the Nasdaq Composite IXIC moved modestly higher Monday morning ahead of the opening bell in New York. The tech-heavy index powered by 0.8% on Friday to cap a volatile week with a rich roster of tech giants participating in the earnings season. As it turned out, it was a mixed bag of growing revenues and profits coupled with some cautiousness over the growth prospects ahead.
• With no time to waste, investors are already positioning themselves (positively, judging by the futures markets) for the upcoming events. This week brings both the apex event in US politics and the peak occasion in central banking. On Tuesday, the US elects its new President and on Thursday, the Federal Reserve decides the level of its benchmark interest rate. The presidential race is neck-and-neck and the Fed is expected to trim rates by 25 basis points.
• All that comes after a brutally low jobs report with just 12,000 new hires added in October. But investors stayed calm and collected and actually shoved new money into equities across the board because this number was largely a result of one-off events — storms, hurricanes, and strikes. With that, brace for volatility in the coming days as markets everywhere — from stocks to gold to forex and crypto — will get wild.