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US stock futures were flat in overnight trading Sunday after major averages posted gains for the month of April, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its best month since January.
Dow-linked futures fell 30 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.1% each.
Stocks come from a profitable week and month. On Friday, the blue-chip index rose 272 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.83%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.69% as earnings from major technology companies took center stage.
For the month, the Dow rose 2.5% to post its best monthly extension since January, while the benchmark rose 1.5%. The tech-heavy index posted marginal gains.
Earnings reports from major tech companies dominated much of the market discussion last week, fueling the narrative that earnings are doing better than feared, despite several pervasive macroeconomic concerns.
To date, just over half of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings, with 79% and nearly 72% beating earnings and sales forecasts, respectively. First-quarter earnings are currently on track to decline by 3.7% for the period, which is less than the expected decline of 6.7% on March 31, according to FactSet.
“There was definitely a very positive surprise with respect to the big tech earnings,” said Jan Szilagyi, CEO of Toggle AI. “There was a bit of a scare in the earnings season,” as forecasts called for relative weakness.
He added that reports from several of these tech giants helped lift some confidence in the market.
Elsewhere, CNBC reported over the weekend that regulators have called on banks to make a final offer to beleaguered lender First Republic, under pressure from a deposit flight in the wake of the Silicon Valley bank collapse. Among the potential bidders are JPMorgan Chase and BNC.
The latest update comes after the bank reported last week that deposits fell by more than 40% in the first quarter, dragging down already-strained stocks further. Shares have crashed 97% since the start of the year.
In other news, investors are eagerly awaiting the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike decision, scheduled for Wednesday at the conclusion of the central bank’s policy meeting. As of Sunday evening, about 79% of traders expect a rate hike of 25 basis points, according to FedWatch CME Group a tool. Wall Street will be closely watching comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which provide clues to the central bank’s future policy path.
Monday kicks off another earnings week, with results from Norwegian Cruise Line and MGM Resorts. Reports from Pfizer, Starbucks, Advanced Micro Devices, and CVS Health are due later in the week.
On the economic front, Wall Street awaits ISM manufacturing, construction spending and global manufacturing PMI data from S&P on Monday. The April Nonfarm Payrolls report will be released on Friday.
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