U.S. stock futures edged higher in early Monday trading. Investors are focused on a busy week of tariff headlines and economic data. Stocks rallied late Friday despite concerns about an exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The markets closed out February with a 1.45% decline, trimming the year-to-date gain to around 1.4%. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tool reveals the U.S. economy is on pace to contract by 1.5% over the first quarter, a big decline from its prior estimate of a 2.3% advance.
“Last week ended poorly,” said Boris Kovacevic, global macro strategist at Convera. “Trump and Zelenskyy clashed in the Oval Office over Ukraine, leading to a canceled press conference.”
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver a keynote address at a monetary policy forum in New York on Friday, just hours after the Labor Department’s February jobs report.
Markets are also watching whether the President will impose tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Following a 30-day delay in negotiations, they are looking at additional duties on imports from China. Only 11 S&P 500 companies are expected to report December-quarter earnings this week.
Markets shift amid busy tariff discussions
Updates from Target and Broadcom are likely to dominate the market’s attention. Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 18-point opening bell gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is called 80 points higher. The tech-focused Nasdaq is also poised for a positive opening. Benchmark 2-year Treasury bond yields edged up three basis points to 4.301%.
10-year notes were up three basis points to 4.255%. The U.S. dollar index was marked 0.55% lower against a basket of its global peers. Bitcoin prices were active, rising around 8% from Sunday levels.
This followed a post from President Trump suggesting he would establish a national reserve of digital currencies. In Europe, a weekend summit of regional leaders in London boosted defense stocks and the single currency. The regional Stoxx 600 benchmark rose 0.61% in mid-day Frankfurt trading.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.7% overnight, rebounding from Friday’s five-month low. The MSCI ex-Japan benchmark edged 0.08% higher into the close of trading.
