US stock futures took a breather on Monday as investors geared up for a busy stretch of economic data and corporate earnings, following a turbulent week that ended with the Dow reaching a record close above 50,000.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were little changed, as were contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F).
On Friday, the Dow (^DJI) surged more than 1,200 points, or 2.5%, notching its first-ever close above 50,000 after briefly crossing the milestone intraday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both finished up around 2%, as Wall Street recovered from a week of heavy losses driven by a tech-led sell-off.
Software shares bore the brunt of the pressure last week, while a broader risk-off mood developed in response to AI expenditure reaching new heights. Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) have planned a combined spend of $650 billion in a development race with no clear frontrunner.
The markets’ comeback is set to run head first into a week packed with key economic data, with the delayed January employment report scheduled for release Wednesday. The data was originally slated for release last Friday but was postponed due to the partial government shutdown. Expectations are muted after ADP reported just 22,000 private-sector job additions last month, down from 140,000 in the same period last year.
Also on deck is January’s consumer price index, set for release Friday following its own shutdown-related delay. On the earnings front, reports from Coca-Cola (KO), McDonald’s (MCD), Cisco (CSCO), and ON Semiconductor (ON) highlight the week.
Those reports will help shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path ahead, as investors weigh how US monetary policy could evolve under President Trump’s pick to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.
Although Warsh is widely viewed as a policy hawk and served at the central bank during the 2008 financial crisis, his nomination sparked only a short-lived lift in the greenback, with the dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) down 10% since Trump took office.
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