Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on February 29, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M Santiago | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday evening after a positive start to the week as investors braced for mega-cap gains, the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision and a jobs report. Shares are also on track to snap a six-month winning streak.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 12 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.02%.
Wall Street is coming off a positive session after a jump in Tesla, buoyed by shares after the electric vehicle maker reached a major milestone in rolling out advanced driver assistance technology in China. Apple also rose after a bullish upgrade in the stock. The S&P 500 rose 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 146.43 points, or 0.38%.
Still, stocks are heading for their first losing month since October as expectations for rate cuts have fallen significantly from the start of the year. The 30-stock index is on track for a loss of more than 3% in April. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are on track for declines of more than 2% each.
Markets are pricing in a cut of just a quarter of a percentage point in 2024, down from the six or seven expected in the new year, as persistent inflation and a resilient economy raised the odds that the Fed would stay higher for longer .
“When you look at the size and the scope and the scale of the rally from the October lows, and on top of that, the persistence of inflation at the end, … I wouldn't be surprised to see some will for put a damper on the market for a short period of time,” Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management, told CNBC's “Closing Bell.”
The week ahead is a busy one, with Fed policymakers meeting on Tuesday for their two-day policy meeting. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates steady, but traders are concerned that Fed chief Jerome Powell's comments after the meeting will be more hawkish following the recent wave of warmer inflation reports.
The busiest week for corporate earnings is expected to continue, with Amazon and Apple reporting their quarterly results on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Additionally, investors will see results from McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Restaurant Brands, Eli Lilly and PayPal on Tuesday before the open. Advanced Micro Devices, Pinterest, Super Micro and Starbucks are expected to report results after the close.
The April jobs report is also expected at the end of this week.
