Global equities and US equities rose on Monday as investors await a busy week of corporate earnings, economic data and central banking decisions.
Futures related to the S&P 500 added 0.1% after the benchmark shares showed its biggest one-week loss since the end of October. US stock and bond markets closed for Martin Luther King Day on Monday.
Stocks have faltered in recent days after a strong start to the year fueled by hopes of a vaccine-induced economic recovery that could help by further fiscal stimulus under the incoming government. Although many investors expect the rise to continue, they say equities are likely to remain bumpy in the coming weeks amid signs that the high rate of coronavirus is hurting economic activity.
“The markets are in a way advancing the recovery and normalization of economic activity,” said Agnès Belaisch, chief European strategist at the Barings Investment Institute. Stocks will be cut short from time to time, given the gap between the market and the way Covid-19 restrictions are shrinking the economic recovery, she said.
Investors will this week analyze quarterly earnings from dozens of large companies, including JB Hunt Transport Services, UnitedHealth Group and Intel, for guidance on the outlook for profits and earnings over the course of 2021. European Central Bank and Banking Monetary Policy Decisions of Japan was also launched, as well as surveys that will give an indication of the business activities at the beginning of the year and the inauguration of Pres. Joe Biden.