Stock futures remained flat in overnight trade ahead of Tuesday’s consumer confidence data and a big week for economic data.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1%.
During Monday’s regular trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 94.65 points, or 0.27%. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31%.
The gains came amid a tech-heavy market rally during regular trading, led by Tesla shares, which rose 8% after it was revealed the company will ask shareholders to split its shares to pay dividends to investors.
“I think everyone needs to be impressed by the resilience of the market, and I go back that there is no alternative,” Erin Browne, PIMCO’s chief executive and portfolio manager, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday. “Do you want to invest in bonds when you know the Fed is going to hike rates, or do you want to invest in stocks where you can get some kind of dividend yield, you can get real earnings growth and it will bring a nice return to your portfolios.” ?”
Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury note rose above the 30-year on Monday, marking the first inversion since 2006. The move fueled some recession fears, although economists usually monitor the spread between the 2-year and 10-year rate, which remains positive.
Oil prices, which have fluctuated over the past few weeks amid ongoing geopolitical tensions abroad, fell on Monday. Both US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude futures were down about 7% to trade at $105.96 and $112.48 a barrel, respectively. The slide sent energy stocks like Chevron crashing.
Market watchers continue to monitor the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as peace talks in Turkey are set to continue. Meanwhile, investors are also watching the Fed as more Wall Street banks announce half-point hikes after Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that more aggressive rate hikes are possible.
Investors await Tuesday’s release of consumer confidence and home price data ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report. Economists are expecting 460,000 jobs to be created in March and the unemployment rate to fall to 3.7%, according to Dow Jones estimates.
Lululemon Athletica and RH will also announce their earnings after the bell on Tuesday.