Stock Futures Edge Lower as Investors Expect Weak Company Forecasts

U.S. stock futures were trending below the neutral line in the early morning hours of Monday reflecting jittery market sentiments as another week of major first-quarter earnings kicks off.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (SPX) futures were dwindling by 0.54%, as of 6:04 a.m. EST, Monday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures shed 0.72%.

Eyes are also on Twitter’s Monday movements after the board unanimously limited shareholder rights on Friday, following Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $43 million buyout offer on the company.

Monday will see quarterly performance releases from Bank of America before the Opening Bell. Also lined up for this week are Dow members IBM (IBM), Procter and Gamble (PG), American Express (AXP), Verizon (VZ), and more.

The technology sector is also in for a busy week with Netflix (NFLX), Tesla (TSLA), and Snap (SNAP) expected to announce their quarterly earnings this week.

Despite 77% of S&P 500 companies topping Street expectations so far according to research firm FactSet, the edginess in the market is possibly because investors are still not sure how the companies plan to navigate the surging costs amid the growing inflation this year. The consumer price index, which is an accepted measure of inflation, grew 8.5% in March. In this regard, investors are uncertain about the earnings outlook of the companies.

Last week, the benchmark 10-year Treasury touched a record high, which was not good news for the stock market. In the regular trading session on Wednesday, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 ended in red, declining 0.33%, 1.21%, and 2.28% respectively. Markets were closed on Friday.

Elsewhere, the heightened war between Russia and Ukraine is increasing debt obligations across emerging economies, giving rise to a growing chance of a global debt crisis.

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