U.S. stock futures rise ahead of midterm elections, inflation report. U.S. stock futures rose Monday as a packed week kicked off, with congressional midterm elections and key inflation data on deck over the next few days. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded higher by 129 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Those gains came even as Apple fell 1% after the tech company said iPhone production has been temporarily reduced because of Covid-19 restrictions in China. Tuesday’s midterm election will determine which party will control Congress, and impact the direction of future spending. Democrats currently control the House, and have a majority in the Senate. A Republican sweep could signal greater support of oil and gas companies.
On the economic front, investors are anticipating Thursday’s CPI report will give further insight into the Federal Reserve’s efforts to squash inflation. A hot inflation report could signal to investors that a pivot from higher interest rates, for longer, could be further away than expected. ″[In] order for the equity and bond markets to match the post-peak inflation performance noted in the table, inflation needs to keep coming down — and at a faster pace than we’ve yet seen. Until the Fed signals the ‘pivot’ is near, things could remain challenging,” Baird’s Ross Mayfield wrote in a recent note.
Wall Street is coming off a strong session, with the Dow rallying 400 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also popped more than 1% each. Still, the major averages closed the week with losses. The Dow ended a four-week win streak on rate hiking fears. Elsewhere, several companies are expected to report Monday including Palantir Technologies, Activision Blizzard, Lyft and Take-Two Interactive. Corporate earnings season is winding down with a majority of companies in the S&P 500 having reported results.
Source CNBC