US pre-open: Futures little changed as traders brace for earnings-heavy week

Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Monday as traders braced for another earnings-heavy week.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.10%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.07% and 0.01% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 22.34 points higher on Friday, doing little to reverse gains recorded in the previous session.

Earnings will be in focus yet again on Monday, with Coca-Cola and Credit Suisse both set to report earnings prior to the open, while Whirlpool will post its most recent quarterly figures after the close.

Market participants were also looking ahead to big-name tech earnings later in the week, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta all set to announce their first-quarter numbers before the end of the week.

Zaye Capital's Naeem Aslam said: "This week is all about the US tech giants, which will be reporting and setting the tone for trading. There is no doubt that the earnings from the US banks have been somewhat better than expected (if you look at the overall picture). This kept the trading sentiment positive among traders, but what matters now is how well the US tech giants will perform.

If we look at the Nasdaq index, the Fed's narrative has had a significant influence on the index's performance so far this month. Given the fact that inflation is incredibly stubborn, it is highly likely that the Fed will continue to use its firepower by raising interest rates to bring inflation lower. The current yield on the US Treasury is a compelling argument in favour of this. It is important to highlight that the Nasdaq is highly sensitive to the Fed’s monetary policy. Previously, we witnessed the index fall on the back of higher interest rates. The chances are that the Fed is going to increase the interest rate at least two more times by 25 basis points before it can ease off."

On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve's March national activity index will be published at 1330 BST, while the Dallas Fed's April manufacturing index will follow at 1530 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com