Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after trending higher over the past several sessions.

Traders may take a breather following the recent strength on Wall Street, which lifted the S&P 500 to a new record closing high above 5,000.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq has also shown a significant advance in recent sessions, closing in the on the record highs set in November 2021.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports in the coming days.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department is due to release its report on consumer price inflation in the month of January, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Reports on retail sales, industrial production, producer price inflation and consumer sentiment are also likely to attract attention later in the week.

With technology stocks leading the charge, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages extended a recent upward trend, with the S&P 500 closing above 5,000 for the first time ever.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a standout gain, surging 196.95 points or 1.3 percent to 15,990.66. The S&P 500 also climbed 28.70 points or 0.6 percent to 5,026.61, while the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend amid a pullback by Disney (DIS) and edged down 54.64 points or 0.1 percent to 38,671.69.

For the week, the Nasdaq shot up by 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent. The Dow inched slightly higher.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to data from the Labor Department showing a modest downward revision to consumer price growth in December.

The revised data showed the consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in December compared to the previously reported 0.3 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the increase by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, was unrevised at 0.3 percent.

While the revised data is not likely to have a major impact on the outlook for interest rates, the modest revision seemed to provide a jolt to tech stocks.

Semiconductor stocks extended the rally seen over the two previous sessions, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.0 percent.

Computer hardware and software stocks also saw considerable strength, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index climbing by 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Outside of the tech sector, brokerage and retail stocks saw notable strength, while energy stocks moved to the downside despite a continued increase by the price of crude oil.

Among individual stocks, Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) skyrocketed by 32.9 percent after reporting an unexpected fiscal first quarter profit on better than expected revenues.

Shares of Cloudflare (NET) also soared by 19.5 percent after the cloud services provider reported fourth quarter results that beat expectations and provided upbeat guidance.

Meanwhile, shares of Pinterest (PINS) tumbled by 9.5 percent after the image-sharing company reported weaker than expected fourth quarter revenues and provided disappointing guidance.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are sliding $0.77 to $76.07 a barrel after climbing $0.62 to $76.84 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after falling $9.20 to $2,038.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $0.80 to $2,037.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.12 yen versus the 149.29 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0766 compared to last Friday’s $1.0784.

Asia

Asian shares ended mostly lower in thin holiday trading on Monday despite the S&P 500’s record-setting close on Friday.

Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore were closed for the Lunar New Year, while the Japanese market was closed for National Day.

Investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. consumer price inflation data for January and Japanese GDP figures for the last quarter of 2023 this week for clues to the economic and monetary policy outlook. Traders also await speeches from several Fed officials this week for more cues on the Fed’s rate trajectory.

Australian markets ended lower after CSL said a phase 3 trial for a heart attack drug “did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint.”

Shares of the pharmaceutical company slumped 4.8 percent, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 7,614.90. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.3 percent lower at 7,860.30.

Lender ANZ Group Holdings rose 1.3 percent and electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi soared 7.1 percent after reporting better-than-expected earnings results.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.9 percent to 11,757.97 ahead of Fletcher Building’s first half result due on Wednesday.

India’s Sensex slid 0.7 percent to 71,072.49, with public sector banks and media stocks coming under selling pressure.

Europe

European stocks are broadly higher on Monday ahead of a busy week packed with earnings, economic data releases and speeches by Federal Reserve officials.

Amid waning optimism over early Fed rate cuts, investors will scrutinize the January U.S. inflation data due on Tuesday for more clues on the Fed’s rate trajectory.

While the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 has edged down by 0.1 percent ahead of key U.K. GDP and inflation readings due this week.

Novo Nordisk has moved to the upside after reports that its controlling shareholder plans to invest up to $7 billion a year by 2030.

Tod’s SpA shares have soared after LVMH-backed private equity L Catterton announced it would acquire a 36 percent stake in the Italian luxury group.

Nordex SE shares have also jumped. The German wind turbine manufacturer reported preliminary consolidated sales for fiscal year 2023 of 6.5 billion euros, exceeding the upper end of the forecast range of 5.6 billion euro to 6.1 billion euro.

Meanwhile, GSK has fallen despite receiving Fast Track designation for its chronic hepatitis B bepirovirsen drug from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Tritax Big Box REIT has also slumped. The real estate investment trust has reached a deal to buy U.K. Commercial Property REIT Ltd. for 0.444 new ordinary BBOX shares per UKCM share.

U.S. Economic Reports

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is scheduled to participate in a conversation hosted by the Economic Club of Minnesota at 1 pm ET.

Stocks In Focus

Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) are seeing significant pre-market strength after Piper Sandler upgraded its rating on the pharmaceutical company to Overweight from Neutral.

Retailer Urban Outfitters (URBN) may also move to the upside after UBS upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Neutral from Sell.

On the other hand, shares of Big Lot (BIG) are plunging in pre-market trading after Loop Capital downgraded its rating on the discount retailer to Sell from Hold.

Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN) may also come under pressure after Barclays downgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Equal Weight from Overweight.