Investing.com — U.S. stock index futures rose Monday, boosted by easing geopolitical tensions at the start of a week that included key tech earnings, monthly nonfarm payrolls data and the final days of campaigning for the U.S. presidential election.
At 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT), it rose 225 points, or 0.5%, rose 36 points, or 0.6%, while rising 155 points, or 0.8%.
Oil prices are falling, risk appetite is improving
Risk appetite soared on Monday as crude oil prices fell sharply after Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran over the weekend but avoided hitting key nuclear and oil facilities.
Iran also reported limited damage from the attack, raising hopes that a larger conflict will not break out in the Middle East, which could have drawn the US into the war.
At 6:35 AM ET, the Brent contract was down 6% at $71.11 per barrel, while U.S. crude oil futures (WTI) were trading 6.3% lower at $67.27 per barrel.
Traders had feared that any attack on Iran’s oil and nuclear infrastructure would mark a serious escalation of the conflict, potentially disrupting oil supplies from the oil-rich region.
Nasdaq hits record high, ahead of tech earnings
Wall Street indexes finished mixed on Friday, with the Nasdaq hitting an intraday record, while the and DJIA both remained below recent peaks.
Positioning in tech stocks increased ahead of a string of major tech gains 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, ahead of Apple (NASDAQ:) and Amazon (NASDAQ:) on Thursday.
The five companies represent a large share of market valuations on Wall Street, with their profits likely to act as a bellwether for the broader market. This week’s earnings figures are also expected to show whether the artificial intelligence business continues to play a role as major companies have ramped up their capital spending on the new technology.
Payrolls heads a packed data sheet
In addition to the big earnings figures, the focus this week will also be on a series of key economic figures, led 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, due to the impact of strikes and weather-related disruptions from Hurricane Helene and Milton. This is expected to remain unchanged at 4.1%.
While Fed officials will likely look at temporary factors affecting payroll numbers, Tuesday’s September data and Thursday’s report will be closely watched for signs of weakening in the labor market.
The third quarter data will also be released on Wednesday, with the next day being the release of the Personal Income and Expenditure report, which includes the central bank’s preferred inflation measure, the .
The presidential elections are approaching
The upcoming presidential elections will also be central, with voting on November 5.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, are tied in national and swing state polls, but former President Trump has improved his margins in recent weeks. The former president is also a slight favorite in the election prediction markets.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
