Stocks closed mostly higher yesterday. The small-cap Russell 2000 and Dow led the way with 1.65% and 1.02% respectively.

Crude oil was lower.

And Treasury yields were mostly lower as well with the 10-year at 5.12%.

Earnings, of course, helped lift stocks too.

3M reported before the open yesterday and posted a positive EPS surprise of 4.17%, and a negative sales surprise of -0.44%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 14.2% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 4.2%. They raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $9.10-$9.15, up from $8.80-$8.95 previously (or about 2.8% higher). Operating margin expanded by 110 basis points to 26.2%. And they disclosed an expanded relationship with Amazon tied to optical connectivity and data center products. They were up 5.78% yesterday.

Hasbro also reported before the bell and posted a positive EPS surprise of 55.9%, and a positive sales surprise of 8.63%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 72.6%, and a sales growth of 15.1%. They raised their full-year, constant-currency revenue outlook to 7%-9%, up from 5%-7% previously. They also doubled their buyback plans, with share repurchases now expected to reach $400 million, up from $200M. They were up 11.2% yesterday.

After the close, SpaceX reported a positive EPS surprise of 250%, and a positive sales surprise of 16.26%, for a quarterly sales growth of 161% vs. this time last year. Net income improved to $4.4 billion from a $1.05 billion net loss last year. AI revenue grew to $7.56 billion, an approximate 9-fold increase. Starlink revenue was up 69% at $5.25B. And they guided Q1'27 revs higher to $33-$37B, well above analysts expectations. They were off -0.11% in the regular session before earnings, but jumped by more than 5% in after-hours trade following earnings.

Today we'll hear from another 100 companies, including Mag 7 stocks Meta and Tesla after the close. But plenty of other marquee names on deck to report including Philip Morris, Thermo Fisher and Abbott Labs before the open, and Texas Instruments, IBM and Lam Research after the close.

In other news, yesterday's Housing Starts and Permits Report showed Starts at 1.221M units (annualized) vs. last month's 1.288M and views for 1.305M, with Permits at 1.400M vs. last month's 1.403M and estimates for 1.387M.

And the Pending Home Sales Index fell by -7.3% m/m vs. last month's 0.3% pace and forecast for 0.0%. The index was at 66.0 vs. last month's 71.2.

Today we'll get MBA Mortgage Applications, and the Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations.

Next week (10/28) is the next FOMC Announcement on rates. While the odds are now at 83.9% that the Fed pauses, you can be sure everyone will be listening for any insight on what comes next. As it stands now, there is a 76.1% likelihood the Fed does raise one more time (25 basis points) at the December 9th meeting. That would conform with what the Fed had forecast in the latest SEP (Summary of Economic Projections). But the SEP also expects no further hikes after that.

In the meantime, we'll see if the market can build on yesterday's gains.

See you tomorrow,