Traders on the NYSE floor, February 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
US futures rose slightly on Monday night, as traders watched simmering tensions between Russia and Ukraine while weighing the potential impact of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. .
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.3 percent.
Wall Street is going through a volatile trading session.
The Dow closed down 171.89 points, or 0.5%, after falling more than 400 points at one point. The S&P 500 index fell 1.2% before ending the day 0.4% lower. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% at one point before closing just below the flat line.
Meanwhile, oil rose to its highest level since September 2014 on Monday, while gold futures hit levels not seen since November 16.
Those moves come as the Russia-Ukraine conflict looks to be escalating. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered the closure of the US embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, citing “significant acceleration in the construction of Russian forces“on the Ukrainian border.
“Investors are facing heightened geopolitical tensions and crude oil hovering at $100 a barrel, but after Friday’s wild ride, today really feels like a win.” “, said LPL Financial market strategist Ryan Detrick.
Concerns about more Fed rate hikes also kept investors on the lookout.
Fed President St. Louis James Bullard told CNBC’s Steve Liesman on Monday that the central bank needs to be aggressive in fighting inflation. The consumer price index last month rose at its fastest rate since 1982, prompting Citigroup and Goldman Sachs to increase their outlook for rate hikes for 2022 to seven.
“I think we need to prepare more relocation plans in advance than we’re going to do before. We were surprised at the rise in inflation. This is a lot of inflation,” Bullard said.
“Our credibility is here and we have to react to the data,” he added. “However, I think we can do it in an organized way and without affecting the market.”
LPL’s Detrick said that while investors should be concerned about inflationary pressures and tighter US monetary policy, the market fundamentals remain strong.
Yes, Fed rate hikes are on the way, inflation is out of control and geopolitical tensions are high, but let’s not forget that we’re coming to the end of a huge earnings season. other solid,” he said. “There’s a lot of external anxiety, but to see really strong earnings last quarter, coupled with companies being generally pretty optimistic about the future of our economy, here’s what investors should hope.”
According to FactSet, more than 70% of S&P 500 companies have released their latest quarterly results, with 77% of them beating analyst expectations. The earnings of these companies have increased by about 30% year-on-year.
— Maggie Fitzgerald of CNBC contributed to this report.
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