Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
S&P 500 futures were little changed late Sunday after the major averages posted a winning week, as investors expected a busy week in terms of earnings and inflation data.
Futures contracts tied to the broader market climbed 0.12%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.24%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 28 points, or 0.05%.
Wall Street is coming off a winning week for the major averages, as a rally in technology stocks helped investors shrug off rising oil prices and yields. The Dow and S&P 500 each posted their second positive week in three, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its fourth straight week of gains.
In Asia, markets opened mixed. South Korea Kospi fell 1.34%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.61%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
Concerns about energy prices resurfaced after President Donald Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was considering joining Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen following another deadly attack on Riyadh’s international airport. These remarks raise the prospect of an escalation of tensions in the region.
Investors are hoping the third-quarter earnings season will help stocks weather the turmoil in the Middle East. By all estimates, future results should be strong. According to FactSet’s John Butters, the S&P 500 is expected to post 29.6% earnings growth in the quarter. This would be the fourth consecutive quarter where the broader index has posted profit growth above 25%, thanks to the strength of AI data center development.
But it’s what executives say that will matter most to investors, given uncertainty over how companies and their customers cope with higher fuel and borrowing costs. Brent crude futures last traded above $104 a barrel, while the 10-year yield last week surpassed levels not seen since 2002.
“Investors have kind of focused on some important aspects,” said Brian Leonard, portfolio manager of the Keeley Gabelli Small Cap Dividend Fund (KSDIX). “Can this company withstand what’s happening? Pass it on, keep growing margins, and the future will be better than the most recent past.”
Reporting season will heat up in earnest this week with the big banks, with Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all due to report results this week.
Key inflation data is also due this week, with September’s consumer and producer price indexes due on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
— CNBC’s Terri Cullen contributed to this report.
Gn bussni
