U.S. stock futures rose on Monday following Friday’s advances. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher in premarket.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday temporarily exempted smartphones, computers, and chips from new U.S. reciprocal tariffs, despite a 20% tariff remaining on all Chinese goods, reversing part of a recently imposed 145% tariff.
However, the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated these electronics exemptions are temporary, and further tariffs could follow soon. Investors also assessed the upbeat bank earnings and cooler-than-expected inflation data.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.46% and the two-year bond was at 3.92%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool’s projections show markets pricing a 79.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its May meeting.
Futures | Change (+/-) |
Dow Jones | 1.00% |
S&P 500 | 1.44% |
Nasdaq 100 | 1.69% |
Russell 2000 | 0.95% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Monday. The SPY was up 1.47% to $541.71, while the QQQ advanced 1.75% to $462.35, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
U.S. stocks finished Friday’s session higher, fuelled by robust bank earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), alongside surprisingly cooler producer inflation data up 2.7% year-on-year in March, down by 0.4% monthly.
All S&P 500 sectors saw gains, with energy, information technology, and materials stocks leading the advance.
The positive sentiment resulted in significant weekly gains for the major averages: the S&P 500 rose 5.7%, its best week since November 2023, the Nasdaq surged 7.3%, its best week since November 2022, and the Dow climbed approximately 5%.
The Dow Jones index climbed 619 points or 1.56% to 40,212.71, whereas the S&P 500 index advanced 1.81% to 5,363.36. Nasdaq Composite rose to end 2.06% higher at 16,724.46, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, jumped 1.57% to 1,860.20.
Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
Nasdaq Composite | 2.06% | 16,724.46 |
S&P 500 | 1.81% | 5,363.36 |
Dow Jones | 1.56% | 40,212.71 |
Russell 2000 | 1.57% | 1,860.20 |
Insights From Analysts:
According to Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates, given the severe selling in the stock market and high trading volume, “it appears that much of the selling pressure is starting to be exhausted.”
“There is no doubt that there will be ripple effects from the Trump Administration's trade war with China. It is imperative that the velocity of money picks up if news breaks on tariffs diminishing and/or the Fed cutting key interest rates,” he added.
Amid the growing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) cut its targets for key Chinese stock indexes for a second time this month.
According to Bloomberg, "U.S.-China trade tensions have soared to unprecedented levels, prompting concerns about global recession, and decoupling risks between the two largest economies globally in other strategic cohorts, notably capital markets, technology, and geopolitics," a team led by Kinger Lau wrote in a note Monday.
Analysts reduced 12-month price targets for the MSCI China Index to 75 from 81 and the CSI 300 Index to 4,300 from 4,500 points, suggesting potential gains of 12% and 15% respectively based on Friday’s closing prices.
Meanwhile, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives described the exclusion of smartphones and chips from China tariffs as the “dream scenario” for tech investors, stating that it’s a “game changer.”
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will keep an eye on this week:
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.78% to hover around $61.98 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar declined 0.32% to hover around $3,229.62 per ounce. Its fresh record high stood at $3,245.76 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was lower by 0.66% at the 99.439 level.
Asian markets rose on Monday, including India's S&P BSE Sensex, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei 225, Australia's ASX 200, and South Korea's Kospi index. European markets were mostly higher in early trade.
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