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)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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