Investing.com — U.S. stock index futures rose Monday, boosted by easing geopolitical tensions at the start of a week that includes key tech earnings, monthly nonfarm payrolls figures, and the final days of campaigning before the US presidential election.
At 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT), rose 225 points, or 0.5%, climbed 36 points, or 0.6%, while rose 155 points, or 0.8%.
Oil prices slide, risk appetite improves
Risk appetite has soared Monday, while crude prices have fallen sharply, after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran over the weekend, but avoided hitting key nuclear and oil facilities.
Iran also signaled limited damage from the attack, drumming up hopes that a bigger conflict will not break out in the Middle East, which could potentially have dragged the US into the war.
By 06:35 ET, the Brent contract dropped 6% to $71.11 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 6.3% lower at $67.27 per barrel.
Traders had feared that any attacks on Iran’s oil and nuclear infrastructure would mark a dire escalation in the conflict, potentially disrupting oil supplies from the crude-rich region.
Nasdaq hits record high ahead of tech earnings
Wall Street indexes clocked a mixed close on Friday, with the Nasdaq hitting a record intraday high, while the and DJIA both floundered below recent peaks.
Positioning in technology stocks ramped up before a string of key technology earnings this week, with five of Wall Street’s “Magnificent Seven” set to report in the coming days.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:) will report on Tuesday, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) on Wednesday, before Apple (NASDAQ:) and Amazon (NASDAQ:) on Thursday.
The five firms make up a large chunk of market valuations on Wall Street, with their earnings likely to act as a bellwether for the broader market. This week’s earnings are also expected to show whether the artificial intelligence trade remained in play, as major companies ramped up capital spending on the new technology.
Payrolls heads up packed data slate
Beyond the major earnings, the focus this week will also be on a string of key economic readings, headed up by Friday’s monthly jobs report.
Friday’s employment report is expected to show that growth slowed to a more modest 111,000 in October, reflecting the impact of strikes and weather-related disruptions from Hurricane Helene and Milton. The is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.1%.
While Fed officials will likely look through temporary factors affecting payroll numbers, Tuesday’s data for September and Thursday’s report on will be closely watched for any signs of softening in the labor market.
data for the third quarter is also due on Wednesday, and the following day sees the report on personal income and spending, which contains the central bank’s preferred inflation measure, the .
Presidential election draws near
Also in focus will be the upcoming presidential election, with voting due on Nov. 5.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris are tied in national and swing state polling, but former president Trump has improved his margins in recent weeks. The former president is also a slight favourite in election prediction markets.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)