Stock-index futures were mixed Monday, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended last week at records following a disappointing jobs report that was seen keeping the Federal Reserve from tightening policy.
What are major indexes doing?
On Friday, stocks shook off a much-weaker-than-expected April jobs report Friday, with the Dow
DJIA,
What’s driving the market?
Analysts said Friday’s disappointing April jobs report, which saw U.S. nonfarm payrolls rise by 266,000 versus a consensus forecast for an increase of 1 million, continued to provide a positive backdrop for equities.
“In our view, the jobs report shows a surprising pause in the labor market recovery, coming at a time when the underlying fundamentals and alternative data are pointed towards acceleration,” wrote analysts at Credit Suisse, in a note.
“Nevertheless, this report should delay any discussion of withdrawing accommodation until a decisive labor market rebound takes place,” they said. “As such, we continue to expect positive equity returns, but at the expense of increased near-term volatility.”
Investors were tracking developments around a cyberattack on a vital pipeline that delivers around 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast. Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline over the weekend said it closed the pipeline was the target of a ransomware attack.
Gasoline futures
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Tech and other growth-oriented stocks, which are expected to grow earnings faster than their peers, were buoyed Friday as the jobs data sparked a retreat for Treasury yields. Those shares appeared set to resume their recent underperformance, however, as yields pushed to the upside on Monday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
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Meanwhile, a strong earnings season was moving into its final stage.
Through Friday, 88% of S&P 500 companies had reported earnings covering the first quarter, according to FactSet. The index is now reporting the highest year-over-year growth in earnings since for the first quarter since 2010, said John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, in a note.
Analysts also expect double-digit earnings growth for the remaining three quarters of 2021. These above-average growth rates are due to a combination of higher earnings for 2021 and an easier comparison to unusually weak earnings in 2020 due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on numerous industries, Butters said.