Futures march higher as markets await megacap earnings, US election

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(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures surged on Monday, poised to recoup some losses from a turbulent trading week as investors prepared for key corporate earnings and the final phase before the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Dow E-minis were up 203 points, or 0.48%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 35 points, or 0.60% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 160.5 points, or 0.78%.

The main focus, however, was on events in the week ahead, most notably corporate results, with around 169 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report through the week.

That includes the bulk of the “Magnificent Seven” group of megacap technology giants that have been Wall Street’s biggest drivers this year, as equities rallied to all-time highs.

Alphabet rose 1.6%, Meta Platforms was up 1.3%, Microsoft was 1% higher, Apple gained 0.7% and Amazon.com added 0.9% in premarket trading, ahead of their results later in the week.

AI-chip heavyweight Nvidia rose 1.3%. It had briefly become the world’s most valuable company on Friday, with its market capitalization creeping ahead of Apple’s, highlighting investor enthusiasm for artificial-intelligence-linked growth stocks.

Markets seemed largely undeterred by rising Treasury yields, after the prospect of higher rates in the prior week unsettled equities and saw the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average snap their six-week winning streaks.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped as high as 4.292% on Monday, a level last seen over three months ago, as investors increasingly expect the Federal Reserve to be less dovish than initially expected with data pointing to continued strength in the U.S. economy.

Economic data due this week will be crucial for that assessment, with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index – the Fed’s preferred inflation measure – as well as the first release of third-quarter GDP data and the crucial nonfarm payrolls report.

Investors all but expect a 25-basis-point rate reduction at the U.S. central bank’s next meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch.

“Even though we strongly favour the Fed cutting two more times this year, this week’s data may not substantially alter the pricing of just 39 basis points of further Fed easing this year,” ING analysts said.

Investors were also focused on the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, with markets more broadly pricing in a second Donald Trump administration.

Futures tracking the economically sensitive small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 0.5%.

(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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