Stock market today: US futures rise, Dow eyes fresh record as bets on Trump ramp up
07/15/2024 17:45Another week of gains followed volatile trading on Wall Street as inflation data cemented September rate hikes and big Wall Street banks kicked off second quarter earnings season.
US stock futures climbed on Monday as investors weighed the market impact of a shooting attack on presidential candidate Donald Trump that overshadowed the return of earnings season.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose 0.5%, after the blue-chip gauge ended last week a few points away from a fresh all-time high. Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) added 0.4%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) gained 0.5%.
Stocks are poised to build on a roaring rally that saw its latest instalment of gains on Friday as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) ushered in earnings season. Next up from Wall Street banks are quarterly reports from Goldman Sachs (GS) and BlackRock (BLK), due before the bell.
But the market was focused on the potential fallout from an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at a rally on Saturday. Bets ramped up on a win in November's presidential election for the Republican front-runner, seen as likely to cut taxes, raise trade tariffs and ease up on regulation.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) up over 2 basis points to trade at around 4.21%, while the 30-year yield gained (^TYX) to steepen the yield curve. The dollar (DX=F) edged up and bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged to a two-week high above $62,830 amid the speculation around former President Trump.
Meanwhile, shares of Trump Media & Technology (DJT) were over 50% higher in pre-market trading. Stock in the parent company of Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, had rocketed up almost 75% in earlier trading. Crypto-related stocks also got a bid.
In corporates, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) is said to be in talks for a $23 billion deal to buy cybersecurity start-up Wiz. Shares in the Google parent were little changed in early trading.
Later Monday, investors will listen closely to Jerome Powell's comments for hints to the Federal Reserve chair's view of the latest data when he speaks.