U.S. Stock Futures Ease After S&P 500 Gains for 3rd Straight Week
2022.04.04 01:37
By Oliver Gray
Investing.com – U.S. stock futures were slightly lower during overnight trading Sunday, after the S&P 500 posted a third straight week of gains as market participants continue to monitor developments around the war in Ukraine and central banks’ tightening plans.
During Friday’s trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139.92 points or 0.4% to 34818.28, the S&P 500 gained 0.34% to 4545.87 and the NASDAQ Composite added 0.3% to 14261.5.
Dow Jones Futures lost 0.11%, S&P 500 Futures dipped 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 Futures eased 0.2%.
Friday’s positive session came despite March’s employment report, which fell short of economists’ estimates. The U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs during the month, while estimates from Dow Jones called for 490,000.
On the bond markets, an often-cited recession signal was triggered Thursday evening when the the 2-Year and 10-Year treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019.
Investors are also monitoring the latest developments in Ukraine as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that Western nations will impose further sanctions on Russia in the coming days.
Ahead in the week, the Federal Open Market Committee will publish the minutes from the central bank’s March meeting, with traders paying special attention to any details on the Fed’s plans to reduce its balance sheet. Any additional notes on the economic outlook for growth, inflation and interest rates will also be scrutinized.
On the data front, traders will also be watching the ISM non-manufacturing PMI, factory orders, while trade data and wholesale inventories are set to be released later in the week.
