Stock Futures Bounce as Traders Look Past a Losing Week

Stock Futures Bounce as Traders Look Past a Losing Week

Sunday rebound led by tech

U.S. stock futures climbed on Sunday evening as traders tried to move past a losing week for the S&P 500. CNBC's live coverage reported S&P 500 futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones futures up 128 points, or about 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures up 0.6%, with technology shares leading the advance.

Ugly Friday close set the stage

The bounce followed a rough finish. Newser's roundup of Friday's close showed the Dow falling 652.82 points, or 1.2%, to 52,215.16, the S&P 500 dropping 39.75 points, or 0.5%, to 7,623.68, and the Nasdaq slipping 53.52 points, or 0.2%, to 25,955.34, with nearly three out of four S&P 500 stocks in the red.

A split week: Dow green, S&P red

The full week told a divided story. CNBC's tally had the Dow up 0.4% for the week while the S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%. Early-week gains saved the Dow, but oil prices and a tech selloff dragged the broader market down.

Oil shock above $100 a barrel

Oil was the week's biggest disruptor. UdaipurKiran reported Brent crude settling at $116.72 a barrel, a six-month high, with U.S. crude topping $100 on fears of an escalating U.S.-Iran conflict. Intraday data showed Brent up 2.7% at $116.24 and West Texas Intermediate up 2.9% at $102.40, while average U.S. gasoline hit $4.29 a gallon, according to AAA.

Fed chair stays silent, hold expected

On policy, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declined to preview the October 27-28 meeting, saying he does not prejudge decisions. Traders read that as a hold signal: LSEG data put the odds of unchanged rates on October 28 at about 90%, keeping the target range at 3.75% to 4%.

Big Tech earnings take center stage

The week's main event is Big Tech earnings. ThinkMarkets' calendar has Microsoft and Alphabet reporting after the close on Wednesday, October 28, and Amazon following after the close on Thursday, October 29, with the Fed decision landing at 2 p.m. ET that same Wednesday. Meta already reported: quarterly revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26%, but capital spending up 80%, sharpening fears about the pace of AI investment.

Bond yields ease but stay elevated

Bonds caught a small breather on Monday. Morningstar's market roundup showed the two-year Treasury yield down 1.5 basis points to 4.666% and the 10-year down 2 basis points to 4.967% in Asian trade. The pressure remains: the 10-year hit a 24-year high of 5.365% on October 7.

Energy stocks and SLB buck the selloff

It was not all red. Yahoo Finance cited a Saxo Bank note describing energy as the morning's leading sector, with oilfield services firm SLB jumping 7.1% after better-than-expected third-quarter results on surging North American revenue, among the S&P 500's biggest gainers.

Fed decision, earnings and oil will test the rebound

Traders now watch three things: the Fed's language on Wednesday, earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, which together make up about 15% of the S&P 500, and whether oil and Middle East tensions keep rising. A surprise on any front could decide whether this fragile rebound holds.