Traders working at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), today, Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures opened little changed after the major averages finished the previous session at record closing highs and ahead of a heavy week of earnings reports from technology’s heaviest hitters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased by 5 points, or 0.01%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.03% and 0.01%, respectively.
In the previous session, the Dow jumped 238.20 points, or 0.68%, to 35,061.55. The S&P 500 gained 1.01% to 4,411.79 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.04% to 14,836.99.
All three of the major averages finished at record closing highs last week after the markets tumbled at the start of the week on concerns about the spread of the delta variant of Covid and how it would potentially hinder the economic recovery. The uncertainty briefly sent bond yields lower, and investors jumped into tech stocks. Both bonds and equities rebounded quickly by the end of the week.
Tech stocks rose last week on better-than-expected second-quarter earnings reports, as well as the continued spread of the delta variant. Twitter and Snap each surged Thursday following better-than-expected second-quarter earnings reports. Twitter ended Friday 3% higher, while Snap shot up 24%.
One of the busiest weeks of earnings reports is on deck in the week ahead, with Tesla kicking it off after the closing bell. Last week, CEO Elon Musk said the automaker would likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again.
Big tech giants Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft are all set to report on Tuesday, and Google, Facebook, and Amazon will also report later in the week.
Investors will be watching the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, beginning Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors are expected to issue a statement on the stance of monetary policy Wednesday. On Thursday the Commerce Department will report second-quarter GDP data.
On Monday morning the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will release new home sales data and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas will release its monthly business activity index for manufacturing in Texas.
