Volatility index to post its largest drop this year

Down Jones and S&P 500

The equity market rally continues, with Dow Jones and S&P 500 poised to post their best weekly performance in 2023.

Caixin/S&P Global Services

China's service activity expanded at a slightly faster pace in October. Caixin/S&P Global Services purchasing manger's index (PMI) rose to 50.4 in October from September's nine-month low of 50.2. The pace of expansion of the services sector, which accounts for about 48% of jobs in China, also remained much slower than seen on average in the first half of the year. Caixin/S&P's composite purchasing manger's index (PMI), which includes both manufacturing and services activity, declined to 50.0 from 50.9 in September, marking the lowest reading since December 2022.

The US unemployment rate

After the 336,000 job creations in the US in September, the market expects a much softer reading this time. Economists anticipate 180,000 job creations in October. The unemployment rate should remain at 3.8%, and average hourly earnings are forecast to rise 0.3% month-over-month (MoM) and 4% year-over-year (YoY).

BMW Group

BMW Group revenues rose 3.4% to €38.5 billion, but group net profit fell 7.7%. The carmaker's margin on earnings before interest and taxes was 9.8% in the quarter. The carmaker also keeps its annual forecasts unchanged.

Societe Generale

France's third-biggest listed bank Societe Generale posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, thanks to a resilient performance from its investment bank. SocGen's third-quarter reported group net income came in at €295 million, above the €168 million average of 13 analyst estimates. It is, however, down 80% from a year earlier, as the bank booked 340 million euros in write-downs tied to some of its activities on top of a 270 million-euro provision for deferred tax assets.

Swiss Re

Swiss Re returned to profit in the first nine months of the year. The net profit of $2.466 billion in the period compares with a loss of $285 million a year earlier, beating forecasts. The reinsurer sticks to its targets for the full year.

Apple

Apple has reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations. However, overall sales fell for the fourth quarter in a row. Every hardware business outside of the iPhone declined year over year, with big drops in the iPad and Mac segments. Earnings per share came in at $1.46 vs. $1.39 expected. Revenue was $89.5 billion, compared to the expected $89.31 billion. Apple's Mac and iPad businesses both saw a drop in revenue during the quarter.

Coinbase

Coinbase's third-quarter loss narrowed to 1 cent as sales beat analyst expectations, with a lift from the crypto exchange's new agreement with stablecoin issuer Circle. The decline in quarterly trading volumes was most concerning, which fell to $76.1 billion, missing analysts expectations of $80.1 billion and a 52% decrease from last year.