By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Gold prices tumble, dollar surges against Japanese yen
U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall
Street on Monday, as Hurricane Irma hit Florida with less force
than expected and North Korea failed to conduct another nuclear
missile test over the weekend, reviving investor appetite for
riskier assets such as equities.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 110 points, or 0.5%,
to 21,888, while S&P 500 futures rose 11.75 points, or 0.5%, to
2,472.75. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 41.50 points, or 0.7%, to
5,965.75.
"The big news this morning has been that Hurricane Irma, while
devastating, has not been as catastrophic as had been feared," said
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "Millions
of homes lost power but not as many as had been widely thought and
while damages are likely to run into the billions, they are not
likely to run anywhere near the more extreme pre-storm
estimates."
U.S. stocks booked losses last week
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-set-for-losses-as-life-threatening-irma-aims-for-florida-2017-09-08)
ahead of Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in the Florida Keys on
Sunday. Among major indexes, the Nasdaq Composite suffered the
biggest drop, ending the week down 1.2%, while the Dow industrials
fell 0.9% and the S&P 500 index dropped 0.6%. At current
levels, major indexes are less than 2 percentage points from
all-time highs.
Irma was downgraded to a Category 1 storm early Monday after
tearing a destructive path across South Florida on Sunday. The
hurricane, due to be downgraded to a tropical storm, is expected to
hit Tampa and Orlando early Monday and Tallahassee later in the
afternoon. Irma has left at least 4 million residents without
power.
Read:Though weakened, Hurricane Irma continues to pound Florida
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/worst-case-scenario-as-hurricane-irma-makes-landfall-in-florida-2017-09-10)
Still, the storm was so far presenting less havoc than
originally expected.
On Friday, William Dudley, the president of the New York Federal
Reserve, said havoc wreaked by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could
lift the U.S. economy
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-dudley-says-hurricanes-harvey-irma-to-give-unfortunate-boost-to-us-economy-2017-09-08)
in 2018, owing to the rebuilding that will be needed.
Meanwhile, investors may have gotten another break from easing
geopolitical tensions. North Korea failed to conduct another
missile test over the weekend, as some predicted might happen to
mark the anniversary of the country's founding.
Cieszynski said that the lack of "a missile test or any other
provocations" fell into the "no news is good news file."
Still, tensions may return with a U.N. Security Council vote due
Monday that calls for further and tougher sanctions on the isolated
nation. More saber rattling was heard out of North Korea on Monday
over potentially harsher sanctions for the country after its sixth
nuclear test.
If the U.S. does "rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution'
on harsher sanctions, the DPRK shall make absolutely sure the U.S.
pays due price," said North Korea's foreign ministry via a
statement published by the official KCNA news agency, according to
AFP
(https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-korea-warns-us-greatest-pain-over-fresh-201000211.html).
There are no major economic data releases on the docket for
Monday.
Stocks to watch: Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Ltd.(TEVA) were up 12% in premarket. The Israeli drug company on
Monday named Lundbeck's Kare Schultz as its new chief executive.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teva-names-lundbecks-kare-schultz-as-new-ceo-2017-09-11)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teva-names-lundbecks-kare-schultz-as-new-ceo-2017-09-11)Shares
of insurer American International Group Inc.(AIG) rose 1.2%.
European insurers were also gaining on Monday, amid some signs
Irma's impact may be less than expected.
Verisk Analytics Inc.'s catastrophe modeling business AIR
Worldwide estimates insured losses resulting from Hurricane Irma
will be in the range of $20 billion to $40 billion
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/verisks-air-worldwide-sees-irma-related-insured-loss-much-less-than-harvey-related-damage-2017-09-11).
That compares with AIR Worldwide's estimate of property damage
resulting from Hurricane Harvey of more than $65 billion.
Shares of The Walt Disney Co.(DIS) moved modestly higher in
premarket, as Irma moved across into Orlando. In a rare move
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/in-a-rare-move-walt-disney-world-to-close-for-hurricane-irma-2017-09-08),
Walt Disney World was closed Saturday to prepare for the storm, and
is expected to remain closed until at least Tuesday. Orlando hotels
were reportedly full of storm evacuees.
Tesla Inc.(TSLA) rose 1.5% in premarket. The electric-car maker
sent out a free software update
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-boosts-range-for-some-vehicles-in-florida-to-escape-irma-2017-09-10)
temporarily extending the battery life for some of its cars to help
owners evacuate the looming Irma storm.
Need to know:Here's the next catalyst for Tesla that has bulls
fired up
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-the-next-catalyst-for-tesla-that-has-bulls-fired-up-2017-09-11)
Other markets: Asian markets had a largely stronger day
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-rev-up-after-lull-in-north-korea-tensions-2017-09-10),
keying off reduced fears over North Korea. The Nikkei 225 index
bounced back from its worst week in seven months to gain 1.4% as
the Japanese yen, a traditional haven in times of geopolitical and
economic stress, weakened.
European stocks continued to press higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-bounce-up-as-appetite-for-risk-returns-2017-09-11),
led by gains for insurers as Hurricane Irma lessened in
severity.
The ICE Dollar Index rose 0.2% to 91.47, led by gains for the
greenback against the yen , which rose to Yen108.55 from Yen107.84
late Friday. Gold , another haven asset, fell $10.40, or 0.8%, to
$1,340.70 an ounce.
Oil prices were mixed, with WTI crude up 0.6%, to $47.75 a
barrel. Brent crude was off 0.4% to $53.59 a barrel.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 11, 2017 08:28 ET (12:28 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.