Global equities and US futures rose on Monday as investors waited for a week full of corporate income, economic data and central bank decisions.
S&P 500 futures added 0.1% after the stock benchmark recorded the biggest one-week loss since the end of October. US stock and bond markets are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
Stocks have faltered in recent days, after a strong start to the year fueled by hopes of a vaccine-induced economic recovery, which could be helped by additional fiscal incentives in the future administration. Although many investors expect the rally to continue, they say the shares will remain rough in the coming weeks, amid signs that high rates of coronavirus cases are hurting economic activity.
“Markets are in a way facing the recovery and normalization of economic activity,” said Agnès Belaisch, chief European strategist at Barings Investment Institute. Actions are bound to interrupt intermittently, given the disconnect between the market and how Covid-19 restrictions make economic recovery difficult, she said.
This week, investors will look at quarterly earnings from dozens of large companies, including JB Hunt Transport Services, UnitedHealth Group and Intel, for guidance on the profit and revenue outlook for 2021. The European Central Bank’s and the European Union’s monetary policy decisions Banks in Japan are also on the ground, as well as polls that will provide an indication of business activity earlier this year and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.