(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, after Wall Street witnessed a bruising sell-off on the back of disappointing earnings from some big U.S. banks last week and escalating tensions in the Middle East made investors wary.
All three major indexes fell more than 1% in the previous session, registering weekly losses after major U.S. bank results failed to impress.
President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. would not participate in a counter-offensive against Iran – an option Netanyahu’s war cabinet favors after a mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory – according to officials familiar with the development.
Iran launched the attack after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders. However, Iran’s attack, launched using more than 300 missiles and drones, caused only modest damage in Israel.
With the first-quarter earnings season now in full swing, investors will look for numbers from brokerage Charles Schwab and lender Goldman Sachs before the opening bell.
Also on the docket are comments from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and her San Francisco counterpart Mary Daly later in the day. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Tuesday.
On the data front, a retail sales reading for March, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, could be key in gauging how the U.S. consumer is faring in the current high-interest-rate environment.
U.S. equities have sold off recently as investors sharply readjusted their expectations of how much the Federal Reserve would cut rates this year. Traders have priced in only 42 basis points of cuts this year, according to LSEG data, down from about 150 bps at the start of the year.
Money market participants now see an over-50% chance of the central bank kicking off its easing cycle in July, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
At 5:02 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 124 points, or 0.32%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 27.25 points, or 0.53%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 108.25 points, or 0.60%.
Most megacap growth stocks edged higher in premarket trading. However, Apple fell 0.7% after data from research firm IDC showed the company’s smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of 2024.
Salesforce dipped 3.5% after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters the customer relations software maker was in advanced talks to acquire Informatica.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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