S&P 500 futures slightly lower as investors await key earnings reports: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
NYSE
S&P 500 futures were 0.14% lower early Tuesday, with traders readying for earnings reports from major companies after the benchmark posted its best day in more than a month.
Futures tied to the broad index sat near their flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.26%.
Those moves follow a winning day on Wall Street as technology stocks rebounded from last week’s sell-off. The S&P 500 rose more than 1% for its best session since early June, while the Dow ticked higher by 0.3%.
Given this theme, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 1.6% climb. The S&P 500 was led higher by the information technology and communication services sectors, which gained roughly 2% and 1.2%, respectively.
The small cap-focused Russell 2000 added 1.7% in the session. This built on last week’s gain, which was seen as a sign of traders moving money to this cohort from Big Tech names that have seen monster gains this year.
The shift to small caps also comes as investors grow increasingly excited that the Federal Reserve will soon begin lowering interest rates, a move seen as particularly helpful for smaller and more cyclically oriented companies.
Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, said the rotation from megacap tech to small-cap stocks seen last week is still prevalent. He said Monday’s broad advance is an attempt from investors to get ahead of potentially positive earning reports over the next few days and the personal consumption expenditures price index reading due at the end of the week.
“I do believe this rotation story is still intact,” Tentarelli said. “If we get that bullish inflation report, I think you could see another leg higher in small caps and the banks.”
As corporate earnings season ramps up, investors will keep an eye on releases from well-known companies such as General Motors, Coca-Cola, Comcast, UPS and Spotify due before the bell Tuesday. Technology giants Alphabet and Tesla, as well as toymaker Mattel, are expected to post results after the closing bell.
Traders will also watch Tuesday morning for economic data on nonmanufacturing and existing home sales.
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