US pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of busy earnings week

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street on Monday as investors looked ahead to a packed corporate calendar this week. At 1415 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% higher.

Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets, said: "US markets are pointing tentatively higher as we enter yet another week that will be dominated by corporate earnings and central bank interest rate decisions.

"Today started with a deluge of data out of Japan and China, with a sharp slump in the Chinese non-manufacturing PMI signalling the potential need for further supportive action from the PBoC and government. The Bank of England and RBA continue the central bank theme this week, with both expected to raise rates by 25-basis points. However, last week highlighted how two like-for-like hikes can be construed in very different ways. While the strong US economy helps enable a hawkish Fed, German-led economic troubles in the eurozone put significant pressure on Lagarde to end the tightening cycle.

"Earnings remain a key driver of markets as we move through the second quarter, with big hitters Apple and Amazon maintaining the tech theme this week. Today sees few major earnings releases of note, as tomorrow will see more prominent names such as Merck, Pfizer, AMD, Caterpillar, and Starbucks report. With 51% of the S&P 500 having reported, this marks the halfway point for Q2 earnings season. It has been notable that those initial reports have seen the blended earnings growth rate for Q2 drop to -7.3% (vs 7% expected), despite seeing 80% of the companies outperform estimates."

In corporate news, New Relic shares surged 13% in pre-market trade after it agreed to be bought by Francisco Partners and TPG in a $6.5bn deal.