US pre-open: Futures in the red as traders take profits in bank stocks

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Monday as traders took profits in bank stocks and awaited more earnings from several big-name US firms.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.22%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.23% and 0.30% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 164.48 points higher at a fresh record high on Friday.

Corporate earnings will again be in focus on Monday as a slew of major blue-chip firms were slated to report throughout the week.

Coca-Cola shares were in the green in pre-market trading after posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenues and stating that demand had returned to pre-pandemic levels in March.

Banks stocks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup were under pressure early on Monday as market participants continued to take profits after some solid earnings from the nation's largest lenders last week.

Also in focus were comments from White House chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci, who stated he believes the US will resume administration of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration requested states temporarily halt using the single-dose vaccine "out of an abundance of caution" following the development of a rare blood-clotting disorder in six people out of the millions who've received the shot.

"My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form," Fauci said. "I doubt very seriously if they just cancel it. I don't think that's going to happen. I do think that there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment."

Elsewhere on the earnings front, IBM and United Airlines were both set to report throughout the course of the day, while no major data points were scheduled for release on Monday.