Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on January 22, 2024 in New York City. The Dow Jones and the S&P both hit all-time highs, with the Dow closing above 38,000 points for the first time as stocks continue to rise.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Good pictures
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday as Wall Street looked ahead to several mega-cap tech earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's rate policy decision.
futures The Dow Jones industrial average fell 27 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 And Nasdaq 100 futures Slightly higher.
All three major averages rose last week following encouraging economic data. Economic growth was stronger than expected in the fourth quarter, while core inflation on an annual basis was lower than economists expected, indicating a cooling in price increases. However, the market's gains were more subdued compared to the previous week's rally after notable companies such as Intel and Tesla disappointed on the earnings front.
A 19% gain in the S&P 500 reporting earnings this week marks the busiest week of the earnings season. Mega Cab Technical Names Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon And letters — part of a core group of big tech companies that led this year's rally — will post their results. Investors will also keep an eye on several Dow components that report their quarterly earnings Boeing And Merck.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Investors are confident that the central bank will keep rates steady. Traders in the Fed funds futures market have assigned a nearly 97% probability that the central bank will not cut rates at the upcoming meeting. CME Group.
Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at the Carson Group, said, “The central bank doesn't really have to worry about a hot economy fueling inflation because that's what we're actually looking forward to. The economy is running above trend and inflation is coming down. Fundamentally, in terms of portfolio allocation, we're overweight stocks.”
Of course, while the Fed will likely cut rates later this year, “leading to some further capital appreciation, [it will] Maybe not as much as the market expects.”
