US pre-open: Futures flat ahead of tech earnings barrage

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures are pointing to a flat start on Monday ahead of an extremely busy week of corporate earnings with heavyweight tech stocks set to steal the spotlight, along with a policy meeting at the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, further escalation in the Middle East will be holding back risk appetite, after new attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels and a drone attack on a US service base killed three American soldiers.

The Dow is looking to fall 0.1% on the open, S&P 500 futures are flat, while the Nasdaq is trading up 0.2% ahead of the opening bell. Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit fresh record highs on Friday.

"Today markets the quiet before the storm, with central banks and corporate earnings expected to make this perhaps the most important week in the first quarter," said analyst Joshua Mahony from Scope Markets.

"The ever-reliable tech sector has helped drive much of the upside that took all three US indices into record territory last week, but the time has come to justify those lofty valuations"

No major results or economic data is due on Monday. However, between Tuesday and Thursday, five blue chip tech stocks representing 22% of the S&P 500 by market cap - Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms - will report their results.

Meanwhile, the Fed's two-day policy meeting culminates on Wednesday but is widely expected to see the central bank stand pat on interest rates. However, investors will be on the lookout for more clarity on the outlook for rates since market expectations of a cut in March have been recently pushed back following resilient economic data.

"Between elevated inflation, strong economic growth, and a resilient jobs market, there should be little reason to believe that the Fed will move before the likes of the ECB," Mahony said.