US stock futures slid Monday, indicating a moderate opening for major indices hitting record highs ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings and economic data.
Futures pegged to the S&P 500 fell 0.1% after Friday’s benchmark stock meter hit its 20th all-time high in 2021. Contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which also closed at an all-time high last week, showed 0.1%. Futures for the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index fell more than 0.2%.
Technology giant equities have regained control of the rally in US equities over the past month, helping to push major indices to a series of record highs. Investors’ concerns about holding stocks sensitive to rising interest rates were allayed by a drop in US Treasury yields. Some say the shift to economically sensitive sectors has gone too far at a time when major economies like the European Union and India are grappling with new coronavirus outbreaks.
Investors on Monday said they were positioning for the start of the earnings season, as well as data that will help gauge whether an upcoming inflation burst will be transitory. The inflation data expected on Tuesday is expected to show consumer prices have risen in March.
“All of these things have to work in a proper Goldilocks fashion to keep current earnings 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 profits; is this completely correct? Said Mr. Park.