(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday after Wall Street experienced a sharp selloff last week on disappointing earnings from some major U.S. banks and escalating tensions in the Middle East made investors wary.
All three major indexes fell more than 1% in the previous session and posted weekly losses after underwhelming results from major U.S. banks.
President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. would not engage in a counteroffensive against Iran, an option favored by Netanyahu’s war cabinet following a mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, according to officials familiar with the development.
Iran launched the attack after a suspected Israeli attack on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed senior Revolutionary Guard commanders. However, the Iranian attack, carried out with more than 300 missiles and drones, caused only modest damage in Israel.
With first-quarter earnings season now in full swing, investors will be watching for numbers from brokerage firm Charles Schwab and lender Goldman Sachs before the opening bell.
Also on the agenda later in the day are comments from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and her San Francisco counterpart Mary Daly. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to give a speech on Tuesday.
As for data, March retail sales, expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, could be crucial to how U.S. consumers fare in the current high-yield environment.
U.S. stocks recently experienced a sell-off as investors sharply revised their expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Traders have priced in only 42 basis points of cuts this year, down from about 150 basis points at the start of the year, according to LSEG data.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, money market participants now see a greater than 50 percent chance that the central bank will begin its easing cycle in July.
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 rose slightly in premarket trading. However, Apple fell 0.7% after data from research firm IDC showed the company’s smartphone shipments fell about 10% in the first quarter of 2024.
Salesforce fell 3.5% after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the customer relationship software maker was in advanced talks to acquire Informatica.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)