Stock futures were flat on Monday night as traders leave behind a winning month and look forward to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Futures related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8 points, near flat. Futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
Monday’s trading marked the end of the Dow’s best month since 1976, ending its 13.95% rally, as investors turned away from technology and hedged hopes on strong companies like banks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes added about 8% and 3.9%, respectively.
Big tech companies were in the spotlight last week, as giants saw stocks plummet on disappointing earnings, weighing on the Nasdaq at times. Meanwhile, strong earnings performance from Dow members such as Caterpillar and McDonald’s sent the index higher throughout the week.
Earnings season continues on Tuesday with Uber, Pfizer and Fox before the bell and Advanced Micro Devices and Airbnb afterward.
Tuesday also comes with the start of the Federal Reserve’s November meeting, which many market participants expect will lead to a 75 basis point rate hike. Many will look to the central bank’s statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Q&A slide for clues about policymakers’ fight against inflation.
“We are very confident that market participants appear to be pricing a 75 basis point increase,” said Jason Ray, founder of Zenith Wealth Partners. “But looking into the future, how are they going to deal with that [it] And seeing if they change their language on inflation or the pace of rate increases in the future will be something we are watching with interest.”
IInvestors will also be watching Tuesday’s economic data, including job creation and construction spending data for September, as well as the ISM manufacturing report for October.
“Beer fan. Travel specialist. Amateur alcohol scholar. Bacon trailblazer. Music fanatic.”