Stock-index futures were little changed Monday as investors looked ahead to one of the busiest weeks of earnings season and a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers.
What are major benchmarks doing?
On Friday, stocks bounced back from a selloff the previous session triggered by reports President Joe Biden planned to push for a sharp rise in the capital-gains tax rate for Americans earning more than $1 million a year. Major benchmarks still suffered weekly losses, with the Dow DJIA down 0.5%, the S&P 500 SPX off 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP losing 0.3%.
What’s driving the market?
“Concerns about the COVID situation, a potential hike in U.S. capital-gains tax and overstretched valuations were some of the reasons for the bumpy performance last week on Wall Street,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, in a note.
“Still, the S&P 500 index managed to close near its record highs as corporate earnings and economic data reassured investors that equities remain the best option for growing wealth,” he said.
Investors are gearing up for another busy week of what’s so far been an upbeat earnings season, with 181 S&P 500 companies, including 10 Dow components, due to report results. Investors will hear from tech heavyweights, with results due after the bell Monday from electric car maker Tesla Inc. TSLA followed later in the week by Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Apple Inc. AAPL, Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, Facebook Inc. FB and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN.
Through Friday, a quarter of S&P 500 companies had reported first-quarter results, leaving the index with the highest year-over-year growth in earnings since the third quarter of 2010, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet.
Analysts also expect double-digit earnings growth for the remaining three quarters of 2021, he noted. Above-average growth rates are due to a combination of higher earnings for 2021 and an easier comparison to weaker earnings in 2020 due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on numerous industries, he said.
The Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes Wednesday, will be in the spotlight, though policy makers aren’t expected to make any material changes to monetary policy.
A stronger economic backdrop since the last Fed meeting will likely be acknowledged, but investors shouldn’t “read into that more than what it is — a reasonable marking to market of where we are at the moment,” wrote economists at RBC Capital Markets, in a note.
At his Wednesday news conference, Powell’s tone is also unlikely to change much, the analysts said. While the chairman’s assertions that rates are unlikely to be lifted before 2022 will probably be challenged over the coming year, Powell is likely to stick to his position, they said.
Data on March durable-goods orders are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. MarketWatch-polled analysts expect a 2.2% increase from February.
Which companies are in focus?
How are other assets faring?