Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the mixed performance seen during last Friday’s session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Earnings news from big-name companies like Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) is also likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over a potential trade deal with China.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying his country has no intention of pursuing such a deal.

The U.S. government is also facing the possibility of another shutdown, as several Democratic senators have threatened to oppose a spending bill if it includes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.

The impasse over DHS funding comes after federal immigration agents shot and killed another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis over the weekend.

After moving sharply higher over the two previous sessions, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. While the Dow gave back ground, the tech-heavy Nasdaq saw further upside, closing higher for the third straight day.

The major averages finished the choppy trading day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Dow slid 285.30 points or 0.6 percent to 49,098.71, but the S&P 500 inched up 2.26 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,915.61 and the Nasdaq rose 65.22 points or 0.3 percent to 23,501.24.

For the holiday-shortened week, the major averages all moved to the downside. The Nasdaq edged down by 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow fell by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

The mixed performance on the day came as traders kept an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with easing concerns about tensions over Greenland being replaced by renewed worries about a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

After President Donald Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland and backed off tariff threats against Europe, he has now apparently shifted his attention back to Iran.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that a U.S. “armada” is heading toward the Middle East.

“We’re watching Iran,” Trump said. “You know we have a lot of ships going in that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction and we’ll see what happens.”

Trump had previously backed down from threats of military strikes against Iran over its crackdown on widespread protests.

In U.S. economic news, the University of Michigan released a report showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of January.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for January was upwardly revised to 56.4 from a preliminary reading of 54.0. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.

With the unexpected upward revision, the consumer sentiment index is well above the December reading of 52.9.

Software stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, driving the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index up by 2.2 percent.

A continued surge by the price of gold also contributed to considerable strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

On the other hand, computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.9 percent.

Banking and housing stocks also saw considerable weakness, with the KBW Bank Index and the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index slumping by 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.34 to $60.73 a barrel after soaring $1.71 to $61.07 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after surging $66.30 to $4,979.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $80 to $5,059.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.21 yen versus the 155.71 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1847 compared to last Friday’s $1.1827.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed in cautious trading on Monday, with Australian markets closed for Australia Day and Indian stock exchanges closed for Republic Day.

A cautious undertone prevailed amid ongoing uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies and ahead of the Fed’s policy decision and big tech earnings due this week.

Trade concerns were heightened after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over its proposed trade deal with China.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying his country has no intention of pursuing such a deal.

Worries about a U.S. government shutdown also added to investor anxiety after Democratic lawmakers threatened to block a Department of Homeland Security funding bill amid controversy over federal law enforcement actions.

Elsewhere in Iran, authorities unveiled a new billboard in a central Tehran Square on Sunday, seemingly aimed at warning the United States against intervention.

The dollar fell against most of its major peers in Asian trading, helping gold prices jump more than 2 percent. Spot gold last traded at $5,091 an ounce after hitting a new high of $5,111 an ounce earlier. Oil prices were little changed after climbing more than 2 percent in the previous session.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 4,132.60 after a choppy session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended little changed with a positive bias at 26,765.52.

Japanese stocks tumbled as the yen surged against the U.S. dollar on the prospect of the U.S. joining Japan in foreign exchange on the intervention.

The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.8 percent to 52,885.25, while the broader Topix Index settled 2.1 percent lower at 3,552.49. Automakers Honda Motor, Toyota and Nissan all slumped over 4 percent.

Seoul stocks snapped a three-day rally after all three U.S. benchmark indexes suffered their second straight weekly declines amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The Kospi fell 0.8 percent to 4,949.59 ahead of some key events this week, including the release of fourth-quarter earnings from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index ended marginally higher at 13,460.74 after staging a late recovery from the day’s lows.

Europe

European stocks were muted on Monday as Iran-U.S. tensions escalated and traders looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the week for direction.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of 100 percent tariffs on Canada, U.S. government shutdown fears and caution ahead of big tech earnings due this week also kept investors on edge.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by less than a tenth of a percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

German automotive and industrial supplier Stabilus has rallied after its first quarter cash flow more than tripled despite lower revenue.

Fnac Darty shares have also soared. The French retailer said it has received an offer from EP Group, a company controlled by Daniel Kretinsky.

Real estate company Aroundtown has also surged as it announced plans to buy back its own shares for up to 250 million euros during the current year.

Meanwhile, food giant Danone has plummeted after announcing it was recalling specific baby formula batches in targeted markets.

Budget airline Ryanair Holdings has also moved notably lower after reporting a drop in third-quarter profits.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 5.3 percent in November after tumbling by 2.1 percent in October. Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 3.0 percent.

The bigger than expected increase by durable goods orders largely reflected a spike by orders for transportation equipment, which skyrocketed by 14.7 percent in November after plunging by 6.3 percent in October.

Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.1 percent in October. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $69 billion worth of two-year notes.