The Market Brief
Hey team. US equity futures made modest moves as market participants looked ahead to earnings reports from American companies with a combined value of $20 trillion, while also monitoring developments in US trade negotiations with Asian counterparts.
Let’s re-cap Friday’s session and see what’s next!
Macro Viewpoint
U.S. stock index futures were steady early Monday, as investors prepared for a busy week featuring major economic releases and earnings reports from several of Wall Street’s largest companies.
Trade negotiations seem so have made little forward progress over the weekend. The market remains caught between deteriorating fundamentals as long as these trade barriers remain but supportive technicals.
It’s shaping up to be an eventful few days, with four members of the "Magnificent 7" set to report: Microsoft and Meta on Wednesday, followed by Apple and Amazon on Thursday. This will likely shift investor attention back to the AI and datacenter capex themes.
Earnings season has so far has been somewhat upbeat, with S&P 500 earnings now expected to climb 9.7% in the first quarter from a year ago.
Meanwhile, key macroeconomic data — including U.S. payrolls, GDP figures, and the PCE price index — will be closely monitored for clues about the economic fallout from new tariffs, and their effects on growth, inflation, and the job market.
