US pre-open: Subdued start expected ahead of quiet day

Stock futures were pointing to a flat start to the week on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 pausing at a three-month low.

With three hours to go before the opening bell, futures were pointing to no change on all three benchmark indices in New York.

The S&P 500 fell 2.9% last week to 4,320 – its lowest finish since 9 June – after dovish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers soured the mood.

It's set to be a relatively quiet start to the week in terms of US economic data, with no major releases due on Monday's session. Looking ahead, the focus will mostly be on personal consumption expenditures and income data due out on Friday.

However, a host of Federal Reserve members are scheduled to make speeches over the coming days, including chair Jerome Powell and New York Fed president John Williams on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Comments will be closely watched following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting last week, after which the central bank held rates steady but indicated that another hike would be probable before the end of the year.

"The market may react to other data prints throughout the week, but it is more likely to respond to Fedspeak as well as any updates on whether the government will see a shutdown," said analysts at TD Securities.

SAG strike could soon end

Streaming companies and entertainment stocks will be in focus on Monday on the back of news that Hollywood writers have reached an agreement with the major studios, which could – if ratified by members – end strikes that started back in May. It is hoped that the deal could push the Screen Actors Guild (also on strike since July) nearer to an agreement too.

Futures in Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Amazon and Apple were all rising in pre-market trade.

Amazon was also making headlines on the news that it is investing up to $4bn in Anthropic, the AI startup founded in 2021 that produced the Claude AI assistant.

Tyson Foods will likely be under pressure after it emerged that supply chain contractors of the company (and Perdue Farms) were using migrant children as young as 13 in its meat-processing plants.