U.S. stock futures steady as attention swings to Trump-Kim summit

U.S. stock futures were mostly steady on Monday, as investors took to the sidelines after a tense Group of Seven meeting and ahead of a highly anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

What are markets doing?

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures  rose 46 points, or 0.2%, to 25,367. But S&P 500 futures  were up just 1 point at 2,783.73, and Nasdaq-100 futures  tacked on 2 points at 7,178.50.

The Dow Average on Friday posted its best weekly gain since March, heading into the Quebec meeting between the U.S. and its allies in the G-7. Friday’s moves left the Dow Jones Industrial Average  up by 2.8% last week, and allowed the S&P 500  to rise 1.6% and the Nasdaq  to gain 1.2% on a weekly basis.

What’s driving the market?

The weekend saw a fresh escalation of tensions between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The spat erupted after the G-7 meeting in Quebec ended Saturday, with Trump withdrawing his support for the group’s communique after Trudeau criticized U.S. tariffs on Canadian metals.

But, so far, “markets have proved remarkably sanguine about the threat of a global trade war and the dramatic events this weekend don’t seem to have changed that stance, with equity markets dismissing the potential threats,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, in a note early Monday.

Meanwhile, top U.S. economic and trade advisors also lashed out at the Canadian prime minister, with Peter Navarro, the White House National Trade Council director, saying that there was “a special place in hell” for Trudeau.

Trump is now in Singapore preparing for Tuesday’s much-anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim on Tuesday.

Away from international relations, investors will also begin to focus on central bank meetings this week. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates after its two-day meeting that begins Tuesday, while European Central Bank policy makers are expected to announce the timing of a reduction of its crisis-era asset-purchase initiative on Thursday.

What strategists are saying

“Although meetings between world leaders are typically not considered market events and would usually encourage a muted market reaction, this summit risks being viewed differently,” wrote Jameel Ahmad, global head of currency strategy at FXTM, in a note discussing potential winners and losers coming out the meeting.

“Uncertainty over the past year or so around Trump-Kim Jong Un relations was seen as one of the major risks for the financial markets. A reduction of this uncertainty should encourage investors to carry on investing in global stocks” if the meeting ends on a positive note, he said.

But “depending on the extent to which the summit might go down an undesirable path, there is the likelihood of investors entering a ‘risk-off’ mode if negative headlines overshadow the meeting,” he added.

Stock movers

Shares of Envision Healthcare Corp.  could be active after reports that KKR & Co.  is nearing a deal to buy the provider of physician services for around $5.5 billion.

What is ahead in economic data?

Monday’s only scheduled top-tier data is a survey of consumer expectations, due at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

How are other markets performing?

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was fractionally lower at 93.500, while the U.K. pound  fell to $1.3366 after downbeat factory data.

In oil, West Texas Intermediate crude for July  dipped 0.2% to $65.60 a barrel, and August gold   was flat at $1,302.70 an ounce.