S&P 500 futures were little changed Sunday night as investors awaited a slew of key earnings reports and a major policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
Futures tied to the broad market index ticked higher by 0.02%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 14 points. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%.
On Friday the blue-chip Dow posted a 2.51-point gain, ending higher for the 10th consecutive day and marking its longest rally since 2017. The S&P 500 finished the week up 0.7% at 4,536.34, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% over the same period.
“Investor sentiment appears to be changing somewhat, so it is not surprising that we will see the market, trending flat or lower as investors consider selling some of their investments and pocketing some of the good profits they have achieved this year,” said Noah Hamman, CEO of AdvisorShares.
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee agreed that profit-taking may be “on the investor’s mind,” especially for those who have enjoyed “amazing” year-to-date returns from tech and FAANG stocks.
“That doesn’t mean that if they take a profit, they have to exit the market,” he told CNBC’s Closing Bell: Overtime on Friday. “If the Fed surprises us in some way because it’s more of a dovish stop, I think investors will find ways to find stocks that go up as financial conditions ease,” he said. “They may not return to FAANG. They may stay in technology, but they may expand into industrials and financials. So yes, profit taking, but it doesn’t mean the market has to go down.”
Investors expect the Fed to raise rates by a quarter percentage point at the end of its meeting on Wednesday and listen to comments by Chair Jerome Powell to determine the central bank’s position on what happens next as it tries to navigate a soft landing for the economy.
They also looked at the personal consumption expenditure index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, which is due at the end of the week.
The coming week is also set to be the busiest of the earnings season, with Thursday being the worst day. About 40% of the Dow and 30% of the S&P 500 will provide their financial updates during the week, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta. Many big pharma companies are preparing to report and it’s a big week for industrial companies and big oil as well.
—CNBC’s Robert Hum and Sarah Min contributed reporting.