October 01, 2012-Market Sentiment Rises and Looks to Confirm Support

Wall Street sentiment seems to have seen a lift following two straight weeks of declines by the major averages. The U.S. index futures point to a moderately higher open on Monday. Stress test results released last Friday showed that Spanish banks may need 59.3 billion euros in financing under an adverse scenario, which is less than what most analysts had estimated. Financial stocks are leading the rally in Europe, while earlier in the day Asian stocks had a mixed outing in the wake of some soft domestic data. The markets may also look ahead to the results of the national manufacturing survey and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Dow futures moving up 69 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 6.60 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 15.60 points. U.S. stocks declined yet again in the week ended September 28th, as eurozone debt worries and some lackluster domestic economic reports kept sentiment subdued for much of the week. Job market indicators are likely to be in the spotlight in the unfolding week, with the Labor Department's non-farm payrolls report for September, ADP's private sector employment report and the weekly jobless claims report among the closely watched reports. Traders may also focus on the results of the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing and non-manufacturing surveys for September and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.