Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 23, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Stock futures were flat in overnight trading after the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended a three-day winning streak.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 37 points. S&P 500 futures fell less than 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%.
During Monday’s trading session, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 344 points, or 0.8%, after posting three consecutive winning trading sessions. The S&P 500 fell about 0.2%, but the Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 0.3%. Elsewhere, the 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 12 basis points to 4.19%.
Investor attention remains focused on third-quarter earnings season, with about one-fifth of the S&P 500 index scheduled to report results this week. Zions Bancorp soared about 3% after Monday’s bell on strong results, while SAP SE rose nearly 4% after guidance was raised.
So far, about 14% of the companies in the broad index have reported results, with more than seven in 10 beating earnings estimates, according to FactSet.
Although it’s early in the season, some on Wall Street have expressed concern that the hurdles are too high for American companies. Despite the recent setback in expectations, Megan Hornman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors, believes predictions for 2025 are unrealistic.
“It’s good that analysts are getting more realistic about earnings growth in 2025,” he said. “However, we believe that 15% profit growth is still too optimistic given the expected slowdown in economic growth in 2025.”
He added that commentary on interest rates and insights on inflation and the economy will continue to be a top priority for investors this season.
The reporting period begins Tuesday with results for 3M, Lockheed Martin, General Motors and Verizon. Tesla, IBM and Boeing are expected to appear later this week.
