Stock futures were lower Monday morning as investors braced for a week of major corporate earnings and a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 178 points, or about 0.52%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.76%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1%.
Wall Street had a winning week as the stock market’s January rally continued. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.3 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 and the Dow gained 2.5 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
There will be multiple tests of the 2023 rally this week. A busy corporate earnings season includes reports from McDonald’s and General Motors on Tuesday and tech giants Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Alphabet later in the week.
The Federal Open Market Committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Fed is expected to raise rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Investors will be looking for clues on how much the central bank will raise interest rates to fight inflation.
“Inflation has shocked the Fed; they need to be careful not to inadvertently cut rates prematurely. Don’t believe the official word about how many rate cuts will be in December. For now, the Fed is only helping in the highly unlikely crash-landing event, ’” Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos said in a note to clients.