US stock futures muted with Q3 earnings, Fed cues in focus

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in evening deals on Sunday as investors hunkered down before the third-quarter earnings season picked this week, while anticipation of more cues on interest rates also weighed. 

Futures were muted after Wall Street rose to record highs on Friday as positive earnings from major banks helped investors look past questions over whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in November. 

A slew of Fed speakers are set to provide more cues on interest rates this week, while some economic data is also expected to factor into the outlook. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 5,856.25 points by 19:27 ET (23:27 GMT), while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.1% to 20,436.0 points. Dow Jones Futures fell slightly to 43,122.0 points. 

Q3 earnings season picks up this week 

The third-quarter earnings season is set to pick up in earnest this week, with Wall Street majors including Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) set to report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will report on Wednesday, rounding out the major bank earnings. 

Chipmaking bellwether ASML (AS:ASML) Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) reports on Wednesday, while streaming giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) will report on Thursday. 

Investors will be largely focused on whether corporate earnings were able to persevere despite pressure from high interest rates and sticky inflation. 

Earnings from the tech sector will also be closely watched for more cues on artificial intelligence-driven demand, especially for the chipmaking sector. 

Positive bank earnings put S&P, Dow at record high 

Wall Street indexes hit record highs on Friday following stronger-than-expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo &Company (NYSE:WFC).

The US500 rose 0.6% to a record high of 5,815.03 points, while the DJI surged nearly 1% to a record high of 42,863.86 points. The IXIC lagged, rising 0.3% to 18,342.94 points. 

JPMorgan and Wells Fargo both rose sharply on clocking positive earnings for the September quarter, as did asset manager BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK). The prints set a positive tone for upcoming earnings from the financial sector. 

Wall Street also rose amid persistent bets that the Fed will cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points in November, even as recent consumer inflation data read stronger than expected.

Producer inflation data on Friday also mostly beat expectations, while consumer sentiment data read weaker than expected. 

Focus this week is now on addresses from a string of Fed officials, which are likely to provide more cues on the central bank’s plans to cut interest rates further.