U.S. stock futures fell on Monday, indicating a close opening of the most important indices remaining at all-time highs before a busy week of corporate earnings and economic data.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 fell 0.1% after the benchmark indicator released its 20th all-time close in 2021. On Friday, contracts for the Dow Jones industrial average, which also closed the week passed with a record, they fell 0.1%. The futures of the Nasdaq-100 index, which has had a slipped technological weight, topped 0.2%.
The shares of tech giants have regained control of the concentration of US stocks over the past month, helping to push major indices to a series of all-time highs. Investor concerns about stock ownership that are sensitive to rising interest rates have eased in a decline in U.S. government bond yields. Some say the shift to economically sensitive sectors went too far at a time when major economies like the European Union and India are facing new outbreaks of coronavirus.
Investors said Monday they were positioning themselves for the start of the earnings season, as well as data that will help gauge whether an upcoming burst of inflation will be transient. Inflation data forecast for Tuesday is expected to show that consumer prices rose in March.
“All of these things have to be delivered to Goldilocks quite a bit so that the current gains remain intact,” said Edward Park, investment director of British investment firm Brooks Macdonald. There is “a bit of a question mark in the markets that just says: we are seeing strong gains; that’s all right? Said Mr. Park.