US Futures Gain Traction

Stock futures were higher on Tuesday as a series of economic data and earnings reports are set to reinforce evidence of a robust economy. Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Dow were 0.3% higher, while those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped 0.6%. P&G and United Health were both muted after posting their results, but futures for tech giants Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple were mostly higher ahead of their earnings events this week. Also, the JOLTS will shortly kick off a batch of new labor market updates this week, in addition to the US GDP, expected to rebound sharply. The Fed is expected to hold rates unchanged this week as the robust economic backdrop coincides with pro-inflationary risks of steeper US tariffs, while markets price two eventual rate cuts this year. On the trade front, the US and the EU agreed to loose trade policy terms to avoid a trade war this week, but concerns of disagreements ahead of work on a legally binding text maintained unease.