US Stocks Likely To Open Lower After S&P 500's 9-Day Streak: 'Any De-Escalation In Trade Tensions Should Be Positive,' Says Expert

U.S. stock futures fell on Monday after a nine-day winning streak on the S&P 500 index. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower in premarket.

The S&P 500 index notched a nine-day advance for the first time since November 2004 on Friday.

While aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump confirmed U.S. officials are engaged in trade discussions with Chinese counterparts, though he has no planned meeting with President Xi Jinping this week.

While the Chinese have proposed the concept of special envoys, the U.S. is reluctant, favoring direct negotiations between Trump and Xi. However, the Chinese view this proposal as “risky and uncertain”, reported the South China Morning Post.

Investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates this week.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.31% and the two-year bond was at 3.82%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 98.2% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its May meeting.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.66%
S&P 500	-0.77%
Nasdaq 100	-0.89%
Russell 2000	-0.88%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 0.70% to $562.82, while the QQQ declined 0.84% to $484.74, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Session:

Bolstered by strong performances in financial, communication services, and industrial stocks on Friday, U.S. markets finished the week higher for all major averages.

The S&P 500, which recorded its ninth consecutive day of gains, the longest since Nov. 2004, and added 2.9% for the week, saw contrasting movements with health care and consumer staples declining on Friday. The Dow gained 3% and the Nasdaq rose 3.4% for the week.

After the end of the nine-day streak, the S&P 500 index was out of the correction zone, just down 7.5% from its record high of 6,147.43 points, scaled on Feb. 19. Dow Jones was 8.33% lower than its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points and Nasdaq 100 was 9.54% lower than its previous high of 22,222.61 points.

Strong jobs data and rising factory orders buoyed the market. Nonfarm payrolls exceeded forecasts at 177,000, easing tariff-related hiring concerns, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. Additionally, new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods jumped 4.3% in March to $618.8 billion.

The Dow Jones index jumped 565 points or 1.39% to 41,317.43, whereas the S&P 500 index surged 1.47% to 5,686.67. Nasdaq Composite ended 1.51% higher at 17,977.73, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, also advanced 2.27% to 2,020.74.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	1.51%	17,977.73
S&P 500	1.47%	5,686.67
Dow Jones	1.39%	41,317.43
Russell 2000	2.27%	2,020.74

Insights From Analysts:

According to Brian Therien, the investment strategist at Edward Jones, the process of completing a U.S.-China trade deal would likely be complex and lengthy. “Any de-escalation in trade tensions should be positive for the economy and financial markets, in our view,” he said.

The solid labor market should allow the Fed to remain on hold a while longer, said Therien, as it will help the Fed to gain greater clarity on the impact of tariffs on inflation.

“Bond markets have pushed back expectations for the next Fed funds rate cut to July, from June, though total rate cuts priced in for this year remain in the 3-4 range,” he said.

“Wider earnings growth should drive more balanced market performance across sectors, strengthening the case for portfolio diversification, in our view,” he said about corporate earnings.

Ryan Detrick from Carson Research highlighted that the S&P 500 has witnessed seven other nine-day winning streaks over the last 40 years.

“Only once did the economy move into a recession within six months, and that was in 1990 when oil spiked due to Iraq invading Kuwait,” he highlighted.

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep an eye on this week:

• On Monday, the S&P final U.S. services PMI for April will be out by 9:45 a.m., and ISM services data for April will be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
• On Tuesday, the U.S. trade deficit data for March will be out by 8:30 a.m.
• On Wednesday, the FOMC meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m., and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver the verdict at a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.
• Consumer credit for March will be out by 3:00 p.m. ET.
• On Thursday, initial jobless claims for the week ended May 3 and U.S. productivity data for the first quarter will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
• March’s wholesale inventories data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
• On Friday, Fed Governor Michael Barr will speak at 5:55 a.m., New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 6:15 a.m., and Fed Governor Adriana Kugler will speak at 6:45 a.m. ET.
• Fed Governor Lisa Cook will speak at 6:45 a.m. ET.
• Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin speaks at 8:30 a.m., Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams will speak on a panel at 11:30 a.m. ET.
• Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem, and Fed Cleveland President Beth Hammack will speak on a panel at 7:45 p.m. ET.

Stocks In Focus:

• Tyson Foods Inc. TSN rose 2.78% in premarket on Monday as it is expected to report earnings before the opening bell. Analysts expect a quarterly earnings of 82 cents per share on revenue of $13.14 billion.
• Cummins Inc. CMI was 0.5% higher as Wall Street expects it to report earnings of $4.90 per share on revenue of $8.19 billion before the opening bell.
• Transcode Therapeutics Inc. RNAZ dropped 21.67% after announcing a 1-for-28 reverse stock split.
• Henry Schein Inc. HSIC fell 1.36% as it is expected to report earnings before the opening bell. Analysts expect a quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $3.23 billion.
• Ford Motor Co. F declined 0.19% as Wall Street expects it to report earnings of 2 cents per share on revenue of $36.20 billion after the closing bell.
• Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. FFAI rose 5.98% after it announced an additional significant pre-order for its FX Super One MPV, adding 300 Units in another B2B Agreement.
• Bon Natural Life Ltd. BON slumped 13.08% after it received a delisting notice as the stock crashed below 10 cents.
• Polyrizon Ltd. PLRZ jumped 18.81% as trading on a post-split basis began on May 5.

Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 1.58% to hover around $57.37 per barrel.

Gold Spot US Dollar rose 1.65% to hover around $3,294.46 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,305.13 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was lower by 0.39% at the 99.6370 level.

Asian markets were mixed on Monday. China’s CSI 300 and Australia’s ASX 200 indices declined. While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Japan’s Nikkei 225, India’s S&P BSE Sensex, and South Korea’s Kospi index rose. European markets were also mixed in early trade.

Read Next:

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock