Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose Monday as investors digested the attack on presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of comments from comments from Fed chief Jerome Powell and more corporate earnings.
At 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 215 points, or 0.5%, {8839|S&P 500 Futures}} climbed 21 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 90 points, or 0.4%.
Trump survives assassination attempt
Trump was targeted in an attempted assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The assailant shot at Trump multiple times, hitting him in the ear. Trump was seen urging the audience to “Fight!”
Initial responses to the attack were that it was likely to improve Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential race. Trump is now set to speak at the 2024 Republican convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to be officially nominated as the party’s frontrunner for the presidential race.
The conference, which begins later this week, is set to be Trump's first public appearance after the shooting.
Wall Street at record highs amid rate cut optimism
Wall Street indexes rose to near record highs on Friday, as slightly stronger than expected producer price index inflation data did little to deter bets on interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average did mark a record high finish above 40,000 points on Friday, outpacing its peers as the prospect of lower rates saw traders pivot into more economically sensitive stocks.
Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.6%, with both indexes remaining in sight of recent peaks.
Friday’s PPI data was also accompanied by softer inflation expectations and consumer sentiment data, which ramped up hopes that inflation will cool in the coming months and give the Federal Reserve enough confidence to begin trimming rates.
Traders were seen pricing in a 90.3% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in September, up from a 72.2% chance seen last week, according to CME Fedwatch.
Earnings set to pick up, with more banks on tap
The second quarter earnings season is set to pick up this week with heavyweights Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) set to report on Monday, followed by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on Tuesday.
Chipmaking major ASML (AS:ASML) is set to report on Wednesday, while tech giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) will report on Thursday.
Crude slips after weak Chinese growth
Crude prices dipped slightly Monday, with weak Chinese data raising doubts about growth in this important economy.
By 06:40 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) dropped 0.1% to $80.94 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.1% to $84.98 a barrel.
The world's second-largest economy registered its weakest growth since the first quarter of 2023,
Additionally, China's crude oil imports fell 2.3% in the first half of this year to 11.05 million barrels a day, amid disappointing fuel demand.
This data indicates the country is facing increased economic headwinds, and this is likely to bode poorly for crude demand in this vitally important market.
That said, losses have been limited with political uncertainty in the U.S. and the Middle East supporting prices.
This content was originally published on Investing.com
