S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% early Monday as U.S. stocks returned from the Independence Day break, with technology leading a broad advance. Traders now turn to Wednesday's release of the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes, watched for signs of a possible rate hike.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open early Monday, with the S&P 500 futures rising 0.4% and the technology sector driving the gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 45 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 1.0%.
The move followed a holiday-shortened week in which the Dow closed Thursday at an all-time high, its 20th record close of the year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dipped Thursday, yet all three indexes ended the week higher.
Semiconductors and a busy corporate week
Corporate news is set to dominate a light week for economic data. The Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF has dropped 11.4% so far in July, keeping attention on the chip sector. South Korea's SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, is hoping to raise more than $29 billion through American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq this week.
Elsewhere, quarterly results from PepsiCo and Delta Air Lines are due, and SpaceX joins the Nasdaq 100 index before Tuesday's opening bell.
Fed minutes and rate-hike worries
One drag on tech stocks has been concern the Fed could raise interest rates. Investors are watching Wednesday's minutes from the central bank's first meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, who succeeded Jerome Powell in late May. Warsh reiterated the Fed's 2% inflation target, which Wall Street read as hawkish.
According to Barron's, ING analyst Chris Turner wrote that some members could see the Fed's next move as a rate hike. Even so, cooler June jobs data pointed the other way: payrolls rose just 57,000, well below the 115,000 consensus. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stood at 4.461%, ticking down from the previous week.
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
