S&P 500 futures were flat Monday night as investors analyzed the latest corporate earnings with a Federal Reserve policy meeting on the horizon.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 index fell 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were almost flat. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 57 points, or 0.2%.
Cybersecurity stock F5 rose more than 7% on the back of a better-than-expected financial report, while electronics maker Sanmina rose more than 15% after reporting strong earnings per share and current-quarter guidance. On the other hand, home appliance maker Whirlpool fell more than 4% after sharing a worse-than-expected forecast for the full year.
The moves come on the heels of a session of green territory on Wall Street for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 leading to a record sixth close of the year. Despite that notable finish, the highly technical Nasdaq Composite saw the best performance among the three major indexes, rising more than 1% during the session.
Monday marked the start of a busy week for corporate earnings, with 19% of companies in the S&P 500 index scheduled to report earnings. Of the roughly a quarter of S&P 500 members who have already reported results, about 72% beat Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.
“There's not necessarily a very consistent message this earnings season,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. This is not the tide that lifts all boats. … So far in earnings season, we've seen clear winners and clear losers.
Markets appeared to rise late Monday after the US Treasury said it expected to borrow less than expected in the first quarter. The ministry said that the reduced need for borrowing stems from expected increases in net financial flows and a higher cash balance at the beginning of the quarter.
Traders will be watching for updates from the two-day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting that begins on Tuesday. The federal funds futures market priced in a roughly 97% probability that the central bank would leave interest rates unchanged during its announcement on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
