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U.S. stock futures were lower Monday morning, coming off the back of a third consecutive week of gains for the S&P 500.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 108 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.17% and 0.28%, respectively.
The S&P 500 notched a fresh all-time high last week following a blockbuster earnings season that’s buoyed investor sentiment. The stock market has continued to climb in the face of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, as well as concerns around the artificial intelligence trade.
Disappointing retail sales data and a relatively mild inflation print have reduced market expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in the coming month.
“You’ve had the shift in interest rate expectations which feeds into some of those tech names, I think that helps explain some of that big rally we’ve had recently in tech after quite a quiet July where we had all those strong earnings but really tech didn’t do very much,” Rory McPherson, chief market strategist at Wren Sterling, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.
Investors are in for a week with fewer catalysts on the calendar, though the Federal Reserve posts its latest meeting minutes Wednesday. A slew of retail earnings are also on tap, with Walmart results due out Thursday. Home Depot and Lowe’s report Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
On the economic front, investors will be watching for the August Empire State manufacturing index, as well as the NAHB Housing Market Index for August.