Stock futures tick lower as investors look at company earnings
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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Stock futures fell slightly on Monday night as investors sought to continue building on momentum in early 2023 and looked ahead to more corporate earnings.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17 points, or 0.1[ads1]%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%.
All three major indices are coming off a positive first two weeks of trading in the new year. The Nasdaq Composite leads the way, up 5.9%, as investors bought battered tech stocks amid growing hopes for a better landscape for growth stocks. The S&P 500 and Dow have risen respectively 4.2% and 3.5% since the start of the year.
Gains have come on the back of the first crop of inflation-related data that investors saw as indicating a shrinking economy, with hopes that will give the Federal Reserve justification to slow rate hikes again. Last week, the consumer price index for December showed that prices fell 0.1% from the previous month, but prices were still 6.5% higher than the same month a year ago.
Investor focus now turns to the company’s finances when the earnings season starts. Banks took center stage on Friday as investors digested comments about the likelihood of a recession. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are due to report before midnight on Tuesday, followed by United Airlines after the market closes.
“The economic data has been kind, to say the least, which is not something we have been able to afford for the vast majority of the year that has just passed,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. “The question now is whether the earnings season will bolster the new sense of hope or spoil the party before it really gets going.”
Investors will also be paying close attention to news from the World Economic Forum’s Davos summit taking place this week.
