Futures on the S&P 500 index advanced this morning, alongside European and Asian shares, as investors awaited fresh developments on; foreign trade and Britain's exit from the European Union.

With those macro concerns as a backdrop, heavyweights; Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Caterpillar (CAT) and McDonald's (MCD) are all on the docket for earnings this week, providing investors with data to access the effects of trade tensions and slowing global growth on some of America's largest corporations.

Also helping buoy markets within sight of fresh all-time highs comes comments by Chinese Vice Premier, Liu He, who said on Saturday that the US and China have made “substantial progress in many fields, laying an important foundation for the signing of a phased agreement”.

“Stopping the escalation of the trade war benefits China, the US and the whole world. It’s what producers and consumers alike are hoping for”, Liu added during a rare public speech about the trade war.

This shift comes after Friday’s session, where global stocks traded in the red after data had shown that China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades. 

The S&P 500 closed -0.44% lower, trimming its weekly advance to +0.57%; now sitting just 1.54% away from July’s record high. The Nasdaq ended -0.96% lower on Friday; 2% shy of an all-time-high.

Ahead, today’s economic calendar is bare, with Durable Goods and New Home Sales for September scheduled to be released later in the week.

In corporate news, earnings reports are expected today from; Halliburton (HAL), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), Xerox (XRX), and L3 Technologies (LLL).

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Brexit: Johnson Seeks Parliament Vote on Divorce Deal. (Bloomberg)
Boris Johnson will try again to put his Brexit deal to a vote in Parliament in a bid to show the European Union he has the numbers to get the divorce agreement ratified. 

ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.

02:00PM - ★★☆ - Federal Budget Balance (Previous: -200.0B)

STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.

Pinterest (PINS): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “outperform” from “sector perform” at RBC Capital, based on strong user trends and prospects for the hobby-sharing website operator to ramp up monetization.

Boeing (BA): [NEWS] Emails from 2016 called into question the safety of the 737 Max jet’s flight control system. Those emails have now been turned over to Congress. Boeing expressed regret over those messages and is continuing to investigate.

Peloton (PTON): [RATING] J.P. Morgan Chase rates the fitness bicycle maker “overweight” in new coverage, noting that Peloton has the largest interactive fitness platform in the world and that it’s well-positioned to disrupt the fitness industry. J.P. Morgan is one of about a dozen firms beginning coverage of Peloton with “buy” or similar ratings as the research firm “quiet period” ends.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): [UPGRADE] Received a double upgraded from Bank of America, to “buy” from “underperform.” The firm points to attractive cash flow and management focus on stable growth, among other factors.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN): [NEWS] Received Food and Drug Administration approval for a second use of its blood disorder drug Ultomiris. The new use treats patients with abnormal blood clots in kidney blood vessels.

Apple (AAPL): [RATING] Raymond James reiterated its “outperform” rating on Apple and raised its price target on the stock by $30 to $280 per share. The firm cites more favorable data on sales of the iPhone 11.

IBM (IBM): [DOWNGRADE] Downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at UBS, which said it thinks it will be difficult for IBM to achieve sustainable mid-single digit revenue growth.

Facebook (FB): [NEWS] Said it is open to a possible currency peg for its digital currency project “Libra,” in the face of growing issues and partner pullouts.

Halliburton (HAL): [EARNINGS] Matched estimates with quarterly earnings of 34 cents per share, but revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts. Halliburton’s revenue was hurt by a slowdown in North American shale drilling.

Verizon (VZ): [NEWS] Is seeking a buyer for the HuffPost website, according to the Financial Times.

News Corp (NWSA): [NEWS] Has reached a deal with Facebook to feature headlines from The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones properties, as well as the New York Post.

MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: STT, GDI, WAL, CCK, RSG, IRM
DECLINERS: LB, LPSN, ESTC, APPN, COUP, OKTA

TODAY'S IPOs
None.

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