- Markets were little changed on Sunday ahead of a busy week for investors, who can expect another flood of corporate earnings, economic data and comments from central bankers. Meanwhile, upper-house parliamentary election results from Japan could ripple through global bond markets and jolt U.S. Treasury yields.
U.S. stocks signaled a calmness on Sunday night that belied a busy week ahead that includes a flood of corporate earnings, economic data and comments from central bankers.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped just 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.03%, and Nasdaq futures dipped 0.04%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down 1.1 basis points to 4.42%. The U.S. dollar was flat against the euro and down 0.15% against the yen, after upper-house parliamentary elections in Japan delivered a disastrous blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition.
Earlier forecasts for a poor result for Ishiba had already sent Japanese government bond yields to multi-year highs as investors expected the election to clear the way for more government spending and tax cuts.
Japan’s stock and bond markets are closed Monday, meaning U.S. Treasury yields may see a delayed response to the election later in the week. Higher Japanese yields could make U.S. debt less attractive to local investors, who have typically been big Treasury buyers.
Gold was down 0.14% at $3,353.60 per ounce. U.S. oil prices rose 0.21% to $67.48 per barrel, and Brent crude climbed 0.19% to $69.41.
After big banks and Netflix reported quarterly earnings last week, more tech giants are due. Results for Tesla and Google parent Alphabet come out on Wednesday, while Intel reports on Thursday.
Other big names on deck include Verizon, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, RTX, Northrop Grumman, IBM, AT&T, Honeywell, and Union Pacific.
Among economic reports that are scheduled are two key housing datasets: existing home sales on Wednesday and new home sales on Thursday. They come amid growing signs of cracks in the housing market.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Governor Michelle Bowman are due to speak at a banking conference.
That’s as President Donald Trump and the White House have continued to wage a pressure campaign against Powell over rates and renovations at the central bank’s headquarters.