How are stock-index futures trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 49 points, or 0.11%, to 43,519
S&P 500 futures increased 11.25 points, or 0.2%, to 5,908
Nasdaq 100 futures increased 143.75 points, or 0.7%, to 20,638
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 306 points, or 0.7%, to 43,445, the S&P 500 declined 79 points, or 1.32%, to 5,871, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 428 points, or 2.24%, to 18,680.
Stock futures were steady on Monday morning following a tough week for markets last week that saw the S&P 500 index post its worst weekly performance in percentage terms in more than two months.
Markets rallied in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. elections on Nov. 5 before starting to dip last week as President Donald Trump picked a new cabinet that includes Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy.
Trump is now preparing to pick his new U.S. treasury secretary. Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent and billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick are currently perceived to be the frontrunners.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was recently appointed head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has publicly endorsed Lutnick in the race.
Investors will now be waiting for Nvidia’s third quarter results, which are set to be published after markets close on Wednesday.
Nvidia’s results are set to shake markets, whatever happens, with the chipmaker’s $3.48 trillion valuation currently higher than the £2.08 trillion ($2.6 trillion) value of the entirety of the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index.
This week will also see investors served with a flurry of new inflation data from countries worldwide, including the Eurozone, Canada, the U.K., Germany, and Japan.
On Monday, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda also signaled the possibility of rate hikes remains on the table at the central bank’s upcoming meeting in December.
Governor Ueda’s statements led to a drop in Japan’s Nikkei 225 index throughout Monday. In China, markets were boosted by Chinese government calls for more stock buybacks.
In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week separately signaled rates could stay high as he stated current economic data is “not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.”
Bitcoin, meanwhile, continued to surge on Monday following a strong few weeks for the cryptocurrency that has seen its value increase by 38.9% since the election result on Nov. 5.