Equity futures are flat on Monday evening as traders leave behind a winning month and look forward to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 1 point, almost flat. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%.
Monday’s trading marked the end of what was the best month for the Dow Jones since 1976, rising 13.95%, as investors turned away from technology and hedged their hopes on pillars. like banks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added around 8% and 3.9%, respectively.
Big Tech was in the spotlight last week as the giants saw stocks slide on disappointing earnings, weighing on the Nasdaq at times. Meanwhile, strong earnings performances from Dow members such as Caterpillar and McDonald’s propelled the index higher during the week.
Earnings season continues on Tuesday with Uber, Pfizer and Fox before the bell and Advanced Micro Devices and Airbnb after.
Tuesday also marks the start of the Fed’s November meeting, which many market participants expect will result in an interest rate hike of 75 basis points. Many will look to the central bank’s statement and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s Q&A segment for clues about policymakers’ fight against inflation.
“We’re pretty confident that market participants seem to be forecasting a 75 basis point increase,” said Jason Ray, founder of Zenith Wealth Partners. “But for the future, how are they going to approach [it] and seeing if they change their language on inflation or the pace of rate increases going forward will be something we’ll be keeping a close eye on.”
IInvestors will also be watching economic releases on Tuesday, including data on job openings and construction spending for September, as well as the ISM manufacturing report for October.
