Investing.com – Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open on Monday after an upbeat June employment report in the prior session left the S&P 500 just a hair’s breadth away from record highs and investors prepared for the beginning of the second quarter (Q2) reporting season.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 67 points, or 0.37%, by 10:55AM GMT, or 6:55AM ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.33%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 22 points, or 0.50%.
The S&P 500 closed on Friday less than one point away from its record closing high of 2,130.82 points and very near to its May 20, 2015 all-time intraday high of 2,134.72 points, leaving traders to question whether more upside remained or whether stocks could be at a market top.
In this context, market participants were gearing up for the unofficial start of the Q2 earnings season with Alcoa reporting after the close on Monday.
The earnings recession was expected to continue with S&P Global Market Intelligence forecasting a 5.2% drop in second quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies, while FactSet estimated that company profit will fall by 5.6% and Thomson Reuters projected a 4.7% decline.
Despite the decrease, most experts pointed out that it would be an improvement from the first quarter, suggesting that the trough may already have been reached and the recovery could continue.
With no major economic data to be released on Monday, traders would concentrate on the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Kansas City president Esther George’s speech on the economy scheduled for 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
George voted against the policy decisions back in March and April, preferring a 25 basis point increase to 0.50%-0.75%, but recanted in the June decision ahead of the U.K.’s referendum on its membership in the European Union.
Whether or not she decides to return to her hawkish stance could help signal a shift in the Fed outlook.
Despite last Friday’s spectacular jobs report, markets remained skeptical about the odds of a Fed rate hike this year. Futures are currently pricing in just a 24% chance of a rate hike by December.
In oil markets, crude hit two-month lows on Monday amid signs of an ongoing recovery in U.S. drilling activity.
Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by 10 last week to 351, marking the fifth increase in six weeks and underlining worries over a supply glut.
U.S. crude futures lost 1.32% to $44.81 by 10:55AM GMT, or 6:55AM ET, while Brent oil traded down 1.28% to $46.16.
Elsewhere, Asian shares rallied to a four-week high, bolstered by election results in Japan and Australia. The Nikkei climbed 4%, its biggest daily gain since early February, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flagged a fresh fiscal stimulus package after his ruling coalition won a landslide victory in the Upper House.
Meanwhile, European stocks opened sharply higher, with Germany's DAX rising more than 1%, on hopes of a large-scale economic stimulus from the Bank of Japan and after U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Friday blew past expectations.