Dow Set to Open Down
Stock futures were retreating early Monday as a busy week for earnings awaits.
Traders will have plenty to digest in the coming days. Four of the so-called Magnificent Seven technology names report on Wednesday and Thursday–Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon. On top of that key economic data on growth, inflation, and jobs are due. And President Donald Trump will mark his first 100 days in office on Wednesday.
It’s been a tumultuous few months since he took over. His focus on tariffs for imported goods has caused uncertainty for companies and consumers and led to broad declines in stocks.
Nevertheless, last week was good–the S&P 500 finished it more than 4% higher after Trump said he was open to a trade deal with China and that he doesn’t plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The index finished at the highest level since his self-declared Liberation Day on April 2, when he announced the details of the levies.
To be sure, none of the uncertainty about tariffs has gone away–the clock is ticking on the 90 days before they take effect, and no deals with other countries to avoid them have been announced. Still, traders and companies are looking at other things. Google-parent Alphabet, another Mag 7 firm, didn’t use the word “tariffs” at all on its earnings call last week.
“It’s not surprising that glass half empty attitudes are set to return to Wall Street at the start of the week,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. “Even though work on multiple bilateral trade deals is continuing and some rapprochement between China and the U.S. is expected, high uncertainty remains.”
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 92 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, as did contracts tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100.
Yields on government bonds were also ticking up after falling at the end of last week. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up slightly at 4.258%, though still lower than the 4.287% seen early Friday. The 2-year note climbed to 3.768%. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of peers, was also slightly higher.