Bloomberg News/Landov
U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a flat open on Monday, with the S&P 500 in danger of threatening to post its third losing session in a row, a sign that investors are reluctant to buy following a recent batch of disappointing earnings.
What are the main benchmarks doing?
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMU8, +0.14% rose 30 points, or 0.1%, to 25,444, while S&P 500 futures ESU8, +0.03% rose less than a point to 2,818. Nasdaq-100 futures NQU8, -0.01% rose half a point to 7,302.
On Friday, the Dow DJIA, -0.30% S&P 500 SPX, -0.66% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.46% closed lower, with the Dow snapping a three-day winning streak, while the S&P and Nasdaq both fell for a second-straight session.
With two days left in July, the three gauges are showing healthy gains for the month. The S&P is up 3.7% for the month to date, representing its largest such rise since January, while the Dow and Nasdaq are higher by 4.9% and 3%, respectively.
What’s driving markets?
Investors have been shaking off some worries about global trade tensions this month, instead focusing on upbeat readings on second-quarter earnings.
But some internet companies tumbled last week after disappointing releases and weighed on the broad market, including Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. Apple Inc.’s report late Tuesday will be key this week.
What are strategists saying?
“The high contribution that FANG stocks have had toward the S&P’s return has been referenced as a market warning, as if their strength is masking weakness underneath the S&P’s surface,” said Ari Wald, head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer.
“In fact, 92% of the S&P’s 2018 gain has occurred outside the Big 6 (AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, FB, GOOG, NFLX) on an equal-weighted basis—showing there’s been broad opportunities to make money this year,” Wald added, referring to Apple Inc. AAPL, -1.66% Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.77% Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.51% Facebook Inc. FB, -0.78% Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG, -2.35% GOOGL, -2.54% and Netflix Inc. NFLX, -2.17%
Which stocks are in focus?
Caterpillar Inc. CAT, -0.01% gained 3.2% in premarket trading after the Dow component reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations. It also raised its full-year outlook. The stock was one of the biggest boosts to the Dow.
Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, -0.24% fell 6.5% before the bell after it gave a cautious full-year earnings outlook, citing uncertain trade policies and higher tariffs.
First Data Corp. FDC, -2.29% gained 4.3% in premarket trading after it reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations.
Juniper Networks Inc. JNPR, -7.33% gained 1.7% before the bell after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy and raised its price target to $32 from $25.
U.S. Foods Holding Corp. USFD, +0.25% agreed to buy Services Group of America’s five operating companies for $1.8 billion in cash.
Fossil Group Inc. FOSL, -10.19% has entered into a licensing agreement with Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft for BMW-branded watches and smartwatches through 2023.
CBS Corp.’s stock CBS, -6.12% could face more selling after falling 6.1% Friday on news that the media company’s board would investigate allegations of personal misconduct by CEO Les Moonves. Some board members discussed over the weekend whether Moonves should step aside, after a New Yorker article late Friday reported that six women have come forward saying he sexually harassed them over a period spanning three decades.
MGM Resorts International’s stock MGM, -1.60% could be active after the casino operator said it would create a U.S. sports betting and online gaming joint venture with U.K. gambling company GVC Holdings PLC GVC, +5.11% The alliance is seen as taking advantage of the opportunities opened up by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on sports betting.
What are other markets doing?
European stocks SXXP, -0.17% were trading lower, while Asian markets closed with losses.
Oil futures CLU8, +2.30% were gaining, as gold futures GCQ8, -0.07% and the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.23% dipped.
Which economic reports are getting attention?
A June report on pending home sales is slated to hit at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar
On the Federal Reserve front, policy makers are slated to begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Economists expect it won’t raise interest rates, but see it issuing a statement Wednesday making it clear that more rate increases are coming. Two more rate increases this year have been signaled, but the first isn’t expected until September.
Other central banks are holding meetings this week: The Bank of Japan is seen as holding broadly to its current monetary policy at its July 30-31 meeting, while the Bank of England is expected to lift interest rates on Thursday in only its second hike in a decade.
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