Nasdaq Futures Point Higher Amid Trump’s Softer China Stance, Earnings Optimism

• President Donald Trump’s softened stance against China and optimism concerning earnings could buoy sentiment, but the government shutdown continues.
• The Conference Board is scheduled to release its leading economic index (LEI) for October at 10 a.m. ET.
• Zions Bancorp, which came under significant selling pressure last week following the disclosure of a $50 million loss on two commercial and industrial loans, is due to report its quarterly results.

U.S. stocks are on track to record successive gains, with the index futures pointing to a moderately higher opening, heading into Monday’s session. President Donald Trump’s softened stance against China and optimism concerning earnings could buoy sentiment, but the government shutdown continues.

About 12% of the S&P 500 companies have reported their earnings so far, and 86% of these companies have reported earnings upside and 86% reported topline outperformance, according to FactSet’s Earnings Insight report. The blended earnings per share growth for S&P 500 companies is expected at 8.5% for the third quarter, and if the actuals align with expectations,  corporate earnings would have grown for nine straight quarters.

How Futures Are Trading

As of 2:25 a.m. ET on Monday, the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.42% and the S&P 500 futures and Dow futures rose about 0.30%, while the Russell 2000 futures climbed 0.59%.

How Market Traded Last Week

In the week ended Oct. 17, the market overcame China trade jitters and concerns stirred by warnings from some SMID-cap banks amid tech optimism and rate cut hopes. The major averages ended with weekly gains, reversing from the previous week’s declines.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500 Index, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) climbed 1.74% and 2.45%, respectively. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) surged 2.36%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 1.56%.

Key Catalysts To Watch Out For

The week’s economic catalysts comprise a few Fed speeches, S&P’s flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for October, the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment reading for October, the September existing home sales report, and the September consumer price inflation report.

On Monday, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its leading economic index (LEI) for October at 10 a.m. ET. Economists, on average, expect the index to fall 0.3% month-over-month, following a 0.5% drop in August.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Wintrust Financial (WTFC) and Zions Bancorp (ZION), which came under significant selling pressure last week following the disclosure of a $50 million loss on two commercial and industrial loans, are due to report their quarterly results on Monday.

Among the notable companies reporting this week are Tesla, Netflix and IBM.

How Other Markets Fared

Crude oil futures came under further selling pressure in the Asian session, while gold futures recovered from their slump on Friday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose further above the 4% mark early Monday. The U.S. dollar fell modestly against most major currencies.

Most major Asian markets advanced on Monday, with Wall Street’s positive move on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading from the front amid hopes that Sanae Takaichi, a fiscal dove, would take over as Prime Minister. China's GDP growth data and easing fears about an aggravation in the tariff stand-off between China and the U.S. also lent support.

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Read Next: Apple’s iPhone 17 Sales Off To Robust Start In Key Markets With Momentum Continuing Into October: Report

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