Stock futures were relatively unchanged on Sunday as Wall Street awaited fresh inflation data for the upcoming week. Futures linked to the S&P 500 dropped 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures remained steady. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also slipped slightly by 0.09%. The Dow had a strong performance last week, marking its eighth consecutive winning session and its best week of the year.
Investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, particularly with the release of April’s consumer price index report scheduled for Wednesday. Despite recent inflation reports exceeding expectations, traders are hopeful that the Fed will not rush into raising interest rates. The upcoming CPI data will provide valuable insights into the market’s stability following a robust first-quarter earnings season.
Thus far, first-quarter earnings have exceeded expectations, with 92% of S&P 500 companies reporting as of Friday. Nearly 80% of these companies have surpassed Wall Street forecasts, according to FactSet data. Barclays analyst Venu Krishna noted that earnings estimates may have been overly pessimistic leading up to the first-quarter results, and the trend of companies beating expectations has boosted market sentiment.
Overall, the stock market has shown resilience in the face of inflation concerns, with strong earnings reports helping to maintain stability. Investors will continue to monitor economic data and corporate earnings reports for further insights into the market’s performance.