Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 10, 2024.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures edged higher Sunday night as the broader index was coming off its best week in months. Traders are keeping an eye on the upcoming week for higher corporate earnings, key labor data and a Federal Reserve meeting.
Futures tracking the index rose 0.2%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 42 points, or 0.1%. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.
The moves come after a rocky but positive week on Wall Street. The S&P 500 rose 2.7%, marking its best week since November and ending its third straight negative week. The Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 4.2%, its best weekly performance since November and its first winning week in the past five weeks. The Dow ended the week up 0.7%.
“The market’s higher expectations for economic growth this year, along with rising interest rates, are a key factor in the resilience of stocks this year,” David Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, said in a letter to clients. It mainly explains.” “But in the past few weeks, the driver of interest rates has shifted from improving growth to improving growth.”
Stock prices are having a harder time digesting concerns about hawkish monetary policy. ”
Earnings season continues this week with releases scheduled from major companies such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Apple, and Amazon. Of the more than 45% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, about four out of five companies beat expectations, according to FactSet, which is shaping up to be a strong quarter.
Monetary policy will be in focus later in the week, with the Fed expected to release its latest interest rate announcement on Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to keep borrowing costs unchanged, but investors will continue to closely monitor Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference following the announcement.
The announcement was made ahead of the April nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for Friday. Traders are analyzing the data to gain insight into the strength of the labor market, given its role in monetary policy decision-making processes and the country’s broader economic health.
