United States stock futures traded slightly higher on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT) after a broad rally kicked off the week, with investors turning their focus to a busy stretch of corporate earnings that could shape the market’s next direction.
By 9:15 am AEDT (10:15 pm GMT), Dow futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures were each up by around 0.1%.
In after-hours trading, Zions Bancorp shares rose 0.8% after the regional lender posted stronger third-quarter profits from a year earlier, despite revelations of several bad loans last week that had triggered a wider market sell-off.
The three major U.S. indexes advanced sharply on Monday, buoyed by gains in Apple shares and optimism that the prolonged government shutdown may soon end.
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told CNBC that the impasse, now the third-longest in U.S. history, “is likely to end sometime this week”, adding that the White House was prepared to take stronger measures if no deal is reached.
Investors are bracing for a heavy slate of third-quarter earnings, with Netflix and Coca-Cola set to report on Tuesday, followed by Tesla on Wednesday.
Sentiment is also being underpinned by expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver another quarter-point rate cut at its late October meeting.
Inflation data due Friday is expected to provide key insight into the central bank’s next move.
ANZ analysts noted: "The CPI release will be important for expectations regarding the policy trajectory. In recent comments, several FOMC policymakers have been cautious about greenlighting further easing after October, noting difficulty in reconciling solid economic growth with a softening labour market while inflation remains elevated.
“Given the current data lull, the market reaction to surprises in either direction could be sharp. Markets are currently fully pricing in 25bp cuts at both the October and December meetings, in line with our forecast.”
