Market Analysis

U.S. stock index futures remained relatively unchanged in Monday evening trading, as rising Treasury yields and caution ahead of key third-quarter earnings reports kept investors on the sidelines.

The futures held steady following a slightly negative session on Wall Street, where profit-taking and a reduced risk appetite caused U.S. benchmarks to pull back from near record highs.

However, the Nasdaq managed a slight gain, boosted by NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ), which hit a record high. The stock rose 0.3% in after-hours trading.

SAP (NYSE) shares in the U.S. climbed nearly 4% on stronger-than-expected earnings.

As of 19:12 ET (23:12 GMT), S&P 500 Futures were unchanged at 5,896.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures hovered at 20,519.50 points. Dow Jones Futures dipped slightly to 43,164.0 points.

Focus on Q3 Earnings Starting Tuesday
A series of major earnings reports is expected to kick off on Tuesday, featuring companies such as chipmakers Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ) and Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ).

Other key reports include defense firms GE Aerospace (NYSE), RTX Corp (NYSE), and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE), alongside telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE), mining firm Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE), industrial giant 3M Company (NYSE), and automaker General Motors Company (NYSE).

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ), the largest company set to report this week, will announce its earnings on Wednesday, followed by other major firms like AT&T Inc (NYSE), International Business Machines (NYSE), Bank of America Corp (NYSE), and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE).

A string of upbeat bank earnings last week helped Wall Street hit a series of record highs, but this momentum was dampened by mixed signals from chipmaking leaders ASML Holding (NASDAQ) and TSMC (NYSE) about demand.

The focus for this earnings season will be whether corporate profits managed to hold up despite challenges from high interest rates and persistent inflation.

Wall Street Slips from Record Levels
On Monday, Wall Street indexes fell slightly from near record levels, as uncertainty over the upcoming presidential election and concerns about the escalating conflict in the Middle East weighed on market sentiment.

The S&P 500 edged down 0.2% to 5,853.98 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% to 42,931.60 points. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.3% to 18,541.46 points.

Republican nominee Donald Trump has seen improved polling numbers against Vice President Kamala Harris with two weeks remaining until the election. However, analysts still view the race as too close to call.

In the Middle East, Israel continued its offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah, with attention focused on the potential for strikes against Iran.

Paraphrasing text from "Investing" all rights reserved by the original author.