UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Netflix slated to post earnings after the close

U.S. stock futures sought firm direction Monday, as investors looked toward another batch of high-profile earnings reports to help steer trading following last week's rally.

A highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was also in focus.

What are markets doing?

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average pared its gain to 6 points to 25,011, while those for the S&P 500 index turned lower, down less than 1 point at 2,802.75. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index added 6.50 points, or 0.1%, to 7,399.50.

The moves come after all three benchmarks managed to eke out gains on Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-for-upbeat-session-as-bank-earnings-steal-center-stage-2018-07-13), which were enough to send the Dow above 25,000 for the first time in a month and for the Nasdaq Composite Index to score a fresh closing record. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, to 2,801.31, representing the first finish above the round-number level at 2,800 since Feb.1, according to FactSet data.

What is driving the market?

Earnings continued to be a main focus for investors after the second-quarter results season got underway in earnest on Friday, when three of the major U.S. banks reported. On Monday, the flow of results continues, with reports from BlackRock Inc.(BLK) and Bank of America Corp. having come in ahead of the bell. Streaming giant Netflix Inc.(NFLX) is expected to publish earnings after the close.

Read:Netflix earnings will be all about subscriber additions, especially overseas (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-earnings-will-be-all-about-subscriber-additions-especially-overseas-2018-07-12)

Also read:Earnings season kicks off as expected--with a fizzle, not a bang (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/earnings-season-kicks-off-as-expectedwith-a-fizzle-not-a-bang-2018-07-13)

Across the pond, all eyes were on the meeting between Trump and Putin in Finland on Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss arms control, alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. 2016 election and Ukraine. Analysts said the summit will be eyed for any hints that the U.S. sanctions against Russia will be lifted.

Trump said in an interview (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/president-trump-has-low-expectations-for-summit-with-putin-2018-07-15) ahead of the summit that he's going into the meeting "with low expectations."

(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1018738368753078273)

What are strategists saying?

"The key focus for investors is the U.S. and Russia's meeting -- the main event of the week. Last week at the NATO summit, there was a lot of drama. It kept investors on the edge. A similar scenario is likely to play out this week as well," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, in a note.

If Trump and Putin's relationship improves, that could lead to more friction between the U.S. and the EU, and that could hit European markets and U.S. markets, Aslam added.

What data are coming up?

Retail sales data for June are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time and are expected to show an increase of 0.5% last month, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

The Empire Sate index for July is on the docket at 8:30 a.m. Eastern as well, followed by a report on business inventories in May at 10 a.m. Eastern.

There were no Federal Reserve officials slated to give speeches on Monday.

Which stocks are in focus?

Bank of America shares (BAC) gained 1% ahead of the bell after the lender's second-quarter per-share earnings and revenue came in above expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-america-profit-and-revenue-beat-estimates-2018-07-16).

Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) could be active after The New York Times reported late Sunday that the banking major is planning to name President David Solomon to succeed Lloyd Blankfein (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-sachs-to-name-david-solomon-as-ceo-as-early-as-next-week-nyt-2018-07-16-0911418) as chief executive officer as early as this week.

Investors were also likely to keep an eye on Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) as the online retailer kicks off its highly anticipated Prime Day.

Read:What NOT to buy on Amazon Prime Day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-not-to-buy-on-amazon-prime-day-2018-07-13)

What are other markets doing?

Asian markets closed mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-stocks-retreat-on-softer-than-expected-chinese-data-2018-07-15) after a mixed bag of Chinese data. Gross domestic product in the world's second largest economy grew 6.7% in the second quarter, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-growth-slows-slightly-in-second-quarter-2018-07-16) down slightly from 6.8% in the first three months of the year.

In Europe , stocks turned lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-slip-on-china-growth-concerns-but-deutsche-bank-leaps-2018-07-16).

The dollar slipped against most major currencies, sending the ICE U.S. Dollar Index down 0.2% to 94.547.

Oil prices were lower, while gold inched 0.2% higher to $1,244 an ounce.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 16, 2018 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)

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