The US stock index futures market declined in overnight trading on Sunday, after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Friday.
Forward contracts linked to the Dow slipped by 69 points or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.34%.
Stocks made a week’s profit as earnings outperformed estimates and strong economic data raised key averages. The S&P and Dow advanced 1.38% and 1.18% respectively for their fourth consecutive profit growth last week, while the Nasdaq Composite achieved its third positive week in a row.
The earnings season kicked off last week when the major banks reported quarterly results, and a myriad of companies will provide their updates this week. Ten Dow components will report, along with 72 S&P 500 businesses.
Coca-Cola, IBM and United Airlines are among the names that will report their earnings on Monday.
Despite trading stocks around record levels, UBS on Friday raised its forecast for the year. The company now predicts that the S&P 500 will end at 4400 by 2021, which is about 5% above where the standard index closed on Friday.
“While investing at an all-time high can be daunting, we believe there is more upside,” the firm wrote in a note to clients. “Following two rounds of stimulus deployments during the quarter, and the ongoing vaccination effort, there is growing evidence that U.S. economic activity is on the rise. The latest data on jobs, business sentiment readings and retail sales point to a strong recovery. “
The Russell 1000 Growth Index has outperformed 10% over the past month compared to the 4% increase in the Russell 1000 Value Index, which has seen recent losses return after rising yields, the technology and growth-based areas of the market.
Over the past three months, however, value stocks have been performing better, and Bank of America believes the group is more upside down. Analysts at the firm said Friday that they “need to stay on value”, pointing out that it is still trading at a “strong discount to growth despite recent strength.”
On the coronavirus front, White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he expects the U.S. to resume administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration last week asked states to temporarily discontinue the single-vaccine vaccine ‘out of abundance caution’ after six women contracted a rare blood clotting disorder.
“My estimate is that we will use it in some form,” Fauci said Sunday during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I have very serious doubts whether they are just canceling it. I do not think it is going to happen. I do think that there will probably be a warning, restriction or risk assessment.”
Bitcoin retreated over the weekend after hitting a high of $ 64,841 on Wednesday morning, according to data from Coin Metrics. On Sunday night, the crypto-currency traded at $ 55,805.
Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.
Get stock listings, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV.
Sign in to a free trial today