Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, July 20, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures rose to begin trading for the week as investors bought up tech shares in the wake of recent weakness.
Nasdaq 100 futures rallied by 0.7%. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 61 points, or 0.2%, and S&P 500 futures rose by 0.4%.
Tesla gained 6% in premarket trading after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and predicted a significant rally ahead because of breakthroughs with its autonomous software. Qualcomm shares jumped more than 8% after the semiconductor company said Monday it will supply Apple with 5G modems for smartphones through 2026.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR, made up of the tech shares in the S&P 500, was down 1.5% in August and another 1.6% this month through Friday. The ETF is up nearly 40% on the year.
Bullish sentiment Monday was helped by a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that there was a consensus among Fed members to not raise rates when the central bank meets next week. Fed futures trading early Monday now put the chance of the Fed staying on hold on Sep. 20 at 93%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Whether the Fed hikes again this year is undecided, the WSJ report said.
All three major indexes posted losing weeks last week. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered the biggest loss, down nearly 2% on fear of higher rates.
Investors are looking forward to key inflation data in the week ahead after a string of stronger-than-expected economic data points last week had renewed worries that the Federal Reserve could raise rates more than previously expected.
Wednesday and Thursday bring the latest consumer price index and producer price index readings, respectively. Investors are hoping for low readings, although both are expected to jump due to energy cost pressures.
Retail sales data is also expected Thursday and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey will be released on Friday, which should give insight on how well spending could hold up for the rest of the year.
Apple will also hold its product event on Tuesday, dubbed “Wonderlust,” during which the company is widely anticipated to unveil the iPhone 15.
