US Stock Futures Slip Before Barrage of Earnings: Markets Wrap

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US Stock Futures Slip Before Barrage of Earnings: Markets Today

stock :: 1day ago :: source - bloomberg

By Cecile Gutscher

(Bloomberg) -- US equity futures posted small moves as investors awaited reports from American companies worth $20 trillion, and watched for progress in US trade trade talks with Asian partners.

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Wild market moves stirred by President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcements have eased somewhat, but investors will be scrutinizing this week’s key company reports for the earnings impact of US trade policies. Fresh readings on the state of the American economy may support hopes of earlier-than-expected Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

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Contracts for the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% following a four-day rally in US equities, the longest winning streak since January. Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.7%, boosted by M&A news out of Italy as Mediobanca made a €6.3 billion ($7.1 billion) offer for the wealth management arm of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA.

Gold dropped as much as 1.6% as traders unwound positions on signs the metal’s advance may have run too far and too fast. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points, while the dollar erased earlier gains.

Four of the so-called Magnificent Seven — Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. — are due to report earnings this week. Analysts expect the group — which also includes Google-parent Alphabet Inc., Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. — to deliver an average of 15% profit growth in 2025, a forecast that’s barely budged since the start of March despite the flareup in trade tensions.

In terms of market capitalization, it’s the busiest week of the year for earnings, with S&P 500-listed companies worth $20 trillion reporting.

Meanwhile, Friday’s US non-farm payrolls figures later this week will also turn attention to the health of the American economy.

“In general I think this week’s data won’t be too bad for the economy because it really precedes the announcement of tariffs,” Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab & Co., told Bloomberg TV. “The inflation numbers shouldn’t be too bad. But I’ll really be watching the ISM numbers at the end of the week and of course, the jobs data where we could see some softness.”

Investors are also watching for any signs of progress in US trade negotiations after Trump suggested another delay to his higher tariffs was unlikely. Asian economies, facing some of the highest US “reciprocal” tariffs, are leading the way over their western counterparts in talks with the administration.

“Ultimately, it seems that we’re moving towards a place where these policies start to make a little more sense,” Themistoklis Fiotakis, global head of FX strategy at Barclays Plc, told Bloomberg TV. “If this starts shaping up in a place where markets can understand it, can quantify it, then I think that things are going to normalize.”

To help manage the next steps, the Trump team has drafted a framework to handle negotiations with about 18 countries, including a template that lays out common areas of concern to guide the discussions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is working on bilateral trade deals with 17 key partners, not including China. Bessent reiterated the administration’s argument that Beijing will be forced to the negotiating table because China can’t sustain Trump’s latest tariff level of 145% on Chinese goods.

Its standoff with China will likewise limit the potential benefits the US can reap from deals with Asian trading partners, according to Phoenix Kalen, global head of emerging markets research at Societe Generale SA.

“Already there has been a lot of investor sentiment and positioning for some deals to be done, especially with Japan, especially with South Korea,” Kalen told Bloomberg TV. “But the scope is going to be relatively limited and hampered. The concern especially for Asian trade partners around how China will respond to the terms will limit the extent to which they can agree to certain terms with the Trump administration.”

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