US equities futures declined on Monday, signaling a subdued opening for key indices that are at a record high ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and economic data.
The futures contract linked to the S&P 500 fell 0.1% after the benchmark shares reached its 20th all-time high of 2021 on Friday. Contracts for the Dow Jones industrial average, which also closed at a record high last week, rose 0.1%. The future for the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index slipped by more than 0.2%.
Shares of technology giants have taken control of the rise in U.S. equities over the past month, helping to lift major indices to a series of all-time highs. Investors’ concerns about holding stocks that are sensitive to rising interest rates are eased by a decline in yields on US government bonds. Some believe that the shift to economically sensitive sectors has gone too far at a time when large economies such as the European Union and India are struggling with fresh coronavirus outbreaks.
Investors said Monday they are positioning for the start of the earnings season, as well as data that will help determine whether a coming burst of inflation will be short-lived. Inflation data available on Tuesday is expected to show that consumer prices rose in March.
“All of this has to do in a pretty golden way to keep current profits intact,” said Edward Park, chief investment officer at British investment firm Brooks Macdonald. There is a bit of a question mark in markets that just says: we are seeing strong gains; is that totally right? ” Mr. Park said.