Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the afternoon of January 22, 2024 in New York City. The Dow and S&P hit all-time highs, with the Dow Jones closing above 38,000 points for the first time ever as stocks continued to rise.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images
US stock futures were little changed on Monday, as Wall Street looked towards several big tech earnings reports and an interest rate policy decision by the Federal Reserve.
Futures The index linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27 points, or 0.1%. Standard & Poor's 500 And Nasdaq 100 futures It rose a little.
The three major averages rose last week after encouraging economic data. Economic growth in the fourth quarter was stronger than expected, while core inflation year-on-year was lower than economists expected, indicating a slowdown in price increases. However, the market's gains were weaker compared to the previous week's rise after notable companies such as Intel and Tesla disappointed on the earnings front.
This week marks the busiest week of earnings season, with 19% of the S&P 500 reporting earnings. Big tech names Microsoft, apple, dead, Amazon And the alphabet — part of the core group of big tech companies that led this year's rally — will publish its results. Investors will also be watching several Dow Jones components report quarterly earnings, including… Boeing And Merck.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Investors are almost certain that the central bank will keep interest rates steady. Traders in the federal funds futures market have set a roughly 97% probability that the Fed will not cut interest rates at the next meeting, according to CME Group.
“The Fed is not worried about a hot economy stoking inflation anymore, because we are literally seeing the opposite,” said Sonu Varghese, global strategist at Carson Group. “The economy is running above the trend and inflation is coming down. Based on that, in terms of allocation portfolio, we are overweight stocks.”
To be sure, he added that although the Fed will likely cut interest rates later this year, “and perhaps lead to some capital appreciation,” [it will] “Maybe not as much as the market expects.”
