U.S. stock futures are signaling a mostly flat start to Monday’s trading session, with markets expected to show limited movement after posting solid gains last week.
With no major economic releases scheduled for today, investors are likely to stay cautious, awaiting several important data points set to drop in the coming days.
All eyes will be on Tuesday’s consumer price index (CPI) report from the Labor Department, which could heavily influence expectations for future interest rate changes.
Economists forecast a modest 0.2% rise in consumer prices for July, down slightly from June’s 0.3% increase. Year-over-year inflation is anticipated to edge up to 2.8% from 2.7%.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is projected to grow 0.3% in July, up from 0.2% in June, pushing the annual figure slightly higher to 3.0% from 2.9%.
Ahead of these figures, CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows an 86.4% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points next month.
Additional reports on producer prices, retail sales, and industrial output are also expected to attract investor focus later this week.
After a mixed Thursday, stocks mostly rallied on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing at a fresh record high.
The Nasdaq added 207 points (1.0%) to finish at 21,450, while the S&P 500 gained 49 points (0.8%) to close at 6,389. The Dow Jones rose 207 points (0.5%) to end at 44,176.
For the week, the Nasdaq surged 3.9%, the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%, and the Dow advanced 1.4%.
Markets shrugged off worries about the economic fallout from President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on several U.S. trading partners, which took effect at midnight.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was a standout, rallying 4.2% to hit its highest close in five months after unveiling plans to invest roughly $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.
The NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index also saw gains, climbing 1.4%, while banking stocks rose alongside the KBW Bank Index, which gained 1.2%.
Oil services, brokerage firms, and networking stocks showed strength, but commercial real estate shares moved lower.
Among notable movers, LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) soared 31% after Bank of America upgraded its rating from Underperform to Buy.
Travel site TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) jumped 11.7% following an earnings beat in the second quarter.
Conversely, Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) shares plunged 38.6% after multiple Wall Street firms downgraded the stock despite strong earnings.
Salad chain Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) dropped 23.1% after reporting disappointing Q2 results and lowering its full-year revenue forecast.
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