- Ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, Nasdaq futures experience a significant decline.
- The Federal Reserve Chairman is scheduled to testify on the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report later this week.
- Later in the day, Factory Orders and ISM Services PMI data are set to be released.
S&P 500 futures decline by 0.27%, Dow Jones futures exhibit a 0.1% drop, and Nasdaq futures experience a 0.62% decrease.
The S&P 500 (SPX), Dow Jones (DJIA), and Nasdaq (IXIC) indices concluded Monday’s session with losses of 0.12%, 0.25%, and 0.41%, respectively.
What to know before stock market opens
On Monday, the Utilities Sector saw a gain of 1.65%, surpassing the Real Estate Sector, which experienced a 1.07% climb. The biggest loser on the day was the Communications Services Sector, declining by 1.51%, closely followed by the Consumer Discretionary Sector, which ended 1.27% lower.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) showed a notable increase of 10.22% at the start of the new trading week, concluding Monday at $17.15 per share. Conversely, Tesla Inc. (TSLA) faced the most significant decline on the first trading day of the week, losing 7.16% and finishing at $188.14 at the closing bell.
Reflecting on the latest developments in equity markets, Jim Reid, global head of economics and thematic research at Deutsche Bank, remarked, “The quiet start to the week for US equities did see the Magnificent 7 (-0.85%) underperform, with slightly more moderate losses for the NASDAQ (-0.41%). There were contrasting moves within the Magnificent 7, with Tesla down -7.16% amid new price cuts and discounts by the EV maker, while Nvidia (+3.60%) overtook Saudi Aramco to become the third-largest company in the world by market cap. On the other hand, the equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 was up +0.24% on the day, as utilities (+1.65%) and banks (+1.58%) outperformed. Back in Europe, the STOXX 600 (-0.03%) was flat on the day, but there was noticeable underperformance from the FTSE 100 (-0.55%).”
Markets await US data, Fed Chairman Powell testimony
The economic calendar in the United States is set to include the release of January Factory Orders and the February ISM Services PMI report on Tuesday.
In a discussion about the policy outlook on Monday, Atlanta Federal Reserve (Fed) President Raphael Bostic expressed his expectation that the Fed will decrease the policy rate by 25 basis points twice in 2024. Reuters reports Bostic saying, “Inflation is still widespread, with more than the usual share of items increasing above 5%, with trimmed mean remaining stuck at 2.6%.”
The Fed, in its Semi-annual Monetary Policy Report published on Friday, reiterated that it is not appropriate to reduce the policy rate until there is greater confidence that inflation will sustainably move toward 2%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to present the monetary policy report and answer questions during a two-day testimony before Congress, commencing on Wednesday.
Looking ahead to Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will unveil the February jobs report, including Nonfarm Payrolls, the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation figures.
