Markets To Watch Today

Crude Oil: November Crude Oil contracts are little changed in overnight trading, as OPEC ponders production cuts. Traders are cautiously awaiting word from Saudi Arabia with their stance on the cuts. Nigeria and Venezuela have already announced cutbacks of 170,000 barrels a day. November Crude Oil futures fell 5 cents, to $59.98 a barrel in pre-market trading.

Wheat: Wheat futures traded higher in the overnight session, gaining back some of yesterday’s losses. December Wheat at the CBOT settled 1 cent lower yesterday, at a price of $4.64 a bushel. Trading hit a contract high of $4.87 a bushel, before selling-off into the close. The overnight session has seen bulls return, as CBOT December Wheat futures finished the overnight session up 3.50 cents at a price of $467.50 a bushel.

S&P: December S&P 500 futures traded lower going into the opening bell, on lower-than-expected non-farm payroll figures. The job report showed non-farm payroll gains of 51,000, much less than the expected 120,000. There was an upward revision for the prior month to 188,000 from 128,000. Hourly earnings rose 0.2%, below the 0.3% estimate, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% from 4.7%. These figures have weakened the market on fears that the economy may be slowing. December S&P 500 futures were trading at a price of 1358.00, down 2.80 at the opening bell.