Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures were slightly higher in overnight trading Sunday as investors gear up for a big week of key corporate earnings.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures added 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%.
Investor attention is shifting to second-quarter earnings reports, which could be the catalyst to extend the market’s rally to new records this year. The blue-chip Dow just hit a fresh all-time high above 40,000 Friday, bringing its 2024 gains to 6.1%. The S&P 500 has jumped 18% in 2024 to a new record, powered by technology giants. More than 40 S&P 500 companies report second-quarter earnings this week.
Traders were also monitoring the latest developments with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend and its potential to lead to more political strife in the U.S.
“This probably won’t have much impact on markets,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note on Sunday. “Trump was already the clear frontrunner, and the shooting will only cement that status.”
The Republican National Convention will begin Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Trump leading President Joe Biden in national polls ahead of the election in November.
The major equity benchmarks just came off another solid week as easing inflation data fueled rate-cut bets. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% last week, scoring its fifth positive week in six. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% during the same period, posting its sixth positive week in a row. The Dow was the relative outperformer last week, gaining 1.6% for its best weekly performance since May 10 as investors started to embrace a broader array of stocks than just technology names.
Results from some of the U.S. big banks that kicked off the reporting season Friday were mixed. JPMorgan and Citigroup both topped Wall Street expectations for earnings and revenue, while Wells Fargo’s decline in net interest income disappointed investors.
Goldman Sachs is set to report numbers before the bell on Monday, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America will post results Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson, United Airlines and Netflix will also release earnings during the week.