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Stock futures are little changed as traders shift focus to earnings amid Middle East tensions

19 h ago

US stock futures were little changed Monday evening as higher oil prices weighed on the major indexes and investors looked ahead to a busy week of corporate earnings, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures all hovering near flat. In regular trading, the Dow dropped 307 points (0.59%) pressured by a 2% decline in Apple shares, while the S&P 500 fell 0.19% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.05%. Oil prices rose after President Donald Trump posted that Tehran would pay for the deaths of three U.S. service members, with U.S. crude closing up 0.9% at $83.23 a barrel and Brent settling 1.3% higher at $89.22. The climb in energy prices pulled major averages lower, even as semiconductor stocks clawed back some losses—the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) posted a modest gain, aided by Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed: Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.1%, but Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.58%. “It looks to be a quiet week ahead for stock investors that could be dominated by technicals and geopolitical headlines,” said Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “Earnings are continuing to flow in, but they may provide more support than a catalyst to send stock prices higher given lofty expectations.” Traders will hunt for details on artificial intelligence spending and listen for confirmation that executives aren’t becoming more cautious about the second half. Big names reporting this week include Alphabet, IBM, Tesla, General Motors, 3M, and Chubb.