Stock futures were flat in overnight trading ahead of Tuesday’s consumer confidence data and a big week for economic data.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 20 points or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched 0.1% lower.
During Monday’s regular trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.65 points or 0.27%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31%.
The gains came amid a tech-heavy market rally during regular trading led by shares of Tesla, which rose 8% on news that it will ask shareholders to split its stock to pay dividends to investors.
“I think anyone has to be impressed with the resiliency of the market and I go back to there is no alternative,” Erin Browne, PIMCO’s managing director and portfolio manager, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday. “Do you want to invest in bonds when you know that the Fed is raising rates or do you want to invest in equities where you can get some type of dividend return, you can get real earnings growth and it’s gonna give you a comfortable return in your portfolios?”
Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury note rose above the 30-year on Monday, marking the first inversion since 2006. The shift stoked some recession fears, although economists typically watch the spread between the 2-year and 10-year rate, which remains positive.
Oil prices, which have fluctuated in recent weeks amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions abroad, fell on Monday. Both U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures and Brent crude futures slid about 7%, settling at $105.96 and $112.48 per barrel, respectively. The slide led energy stocks such as Chevron to tumble.
Market watchers continue to monitor the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as peace talks are set to continue in Turkey. Meanwhile, investors are also watching the Fed, as more Wall Street banks pencil in half-point increases after chair Jerome Powell indicated that more aggressive hikes are possible.
Investors are awaiting consumer confidence and home price data to be released Tuesday, ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report. Economists expect to see 460,000 jobs added in March and the unemployment rate to fall to 3.7%, according to Dow Jones estimates.
Lululemon Athletica and RH will also report earnings after the bell on Tuesday.
