U.S. stock futures traded mixed ahead of Monday’s session after the S&P 500 posted its third straight weekly gain and hit a record high last week. The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire today, adding to uncertainty over the next steps in the conflict.
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Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) were up 0.51% and 0.15%, respectively, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.15% at 5:38 a.m. EDT on August 17.
Oil prices remained volatile following U.S. threats last week to put Iran in economic isolation and the continued U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. At the time of writing, Brent crude (CM:BZ) traded around $89.78 a barrel, while WTI crude (CM:CL) was near $82.52 a barrel.
Last week, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.1% for its third straight weekly advance. The Dow fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 had a record-setting week, crossing 7,800 for the first time on Thursday and hitting an intraday record of 7,816.70. However, the index fell 0.17% on Friday.
The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield traded near 4.68% as of the last check. Additionally, the spot gold price in U.S. dollars traded around $4,397.53 per ounce on Monday.
Investors are also looking ahead to a busy week of retail earnings and the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its latest FOMC meeting. Retail companies reporting this week include Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), TJX Companies (TJX), and Walmart (WMT). Other notable companies reporting this week include Baidu (BIDU), Klarna (KLAR), Analog Devices (ADI), Deere (DE), and Alibaba (BABA).
European markets traded mostly higher led by gains in mining and technology stocks.
Asia-Pacific Markets Close Mixed
Asia-Pacific markets ended mostly higher as investors assessed the latest developments surrounding the fragile Middle East ceasefire.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.34%. In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.41%, while the Shenzhen Component was up 1.71%. In Japan, the Nikkei added 0.74% and the Topix fell 0.31%.