Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: NYSE
US stock futures were stable in early morning trading Monday as investors digested the record high of the S&P 500 a week ago with an important meeting of the Federal Reserve.
Dow futures rose 18 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both traded in slightly positive territory.
The Fed’s two-day monetary policy meeting is likely to dominate investor behavior this week. Even if the central bank is not expected to take any action, its forecasts on interest rates, inflation and the economy could move the markets.
Fed chief Jerome Powell speaks to the press after the central bank made its statement on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. It is expected to reaffirm the Fed’s commitment to loose policy. However, concerns over inflation and the Fed’s response are likely to affect market direction, especially after unexpectedly high consumer inflation was reported for May last Thursday.
“In light of the recent oversized inflation reports, this week’s Federal Reserve meeting will be scrutinized for any tell-tale evidence that the Fed’s schedule is moving forward to either hike rates or cut QE,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, said CNBC.
“Any evidence to suggest that monetary tightening is proceeding is likely to create volatility in the equity market,” added Paulsen.
US stocks closed last week with a record closing high for the S&P 500 and beginning a rotation back into growth stocks.
Last week, the 30 stocks Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.4% for the third positive week in a row. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed nearly 1.9% for its fourth consecutive week of success as tech trading came back into fashion.
“As the S&P 500 index hit another new record high last week, investors will be watching to see if this signals higher levels in the short term,” said Paulsen.
Investors give growth stocks another chance as bond yields plummet. US 10-year Treasuries fell below 1.43% on Friday, a three-month low. Cathie Woods Ark Innovation, an ETF focused on disruptive technologies, returned around 6% last week.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk boosted sentiment in the cryptocurrency, saying on Sunday that the company will resume Bitcoin transactions once it confirms miners are using reasonable clean energy consumption. Bitcoin most recently rose 8.6% to $ 39,000, according to Coin Metrics.
Meme stocks also got attention last week. AMC Entertainment, Clover Health Investments, GameStop, and more experienced volatile trading as the group continued to attract the attention of social media investors on Reddit.
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– with reports from CNBC’s Patti Domm.
