U.S. stock indexes on Tuesday were set to trade flat to slightly lower as investors awaited data on June inflation and parsed quarterly results from some of the country’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
+1.43%
How are stock benchmarks trading?
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Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YMU21,
-0.08%YM00,
-0.08%
were trading 50 points, or 0.1%, lower at 34,825. -
S&P 500 index futures
ESU21,
-0.01%ES00,
-0.01%
were less than a point lower at 4,375.75. -
Nasdaq-100 futures
NQU21,
+0.31%NQ00,
+0.31%
were up 51 points higher at 14,920.25, a gain of 0.3%.
On Monday, all three stock benchmarks finished at all-time highs for the second straight session with the Dow
DJIA,
+0.36%
narrowly missing its first close above 35,000. The Dow rose 126.02 points, or 0.4%, to end at a record 34,996.18, the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.35%
added 15.08 points, or 0.4%, closing at a record 4,384.63; while the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.21%
advanced 31.32 points, or 0.2%, finishing at a record 14,733.24.
What’s driving the market?
After clearing a fresh round of records on Monday, stock-market investors are seeking insights from fresh economic data and from the start of second-quarter earnings reporting season to push stocks to further gains.
Results from JPMorgan Chase early Tuesday came in better than expected early Tuesday, with the nation’s largest bank by market capitalization reporting second-quarter profit that more than doubled and revenue that beat expectations, even as trading revenue fell 30%, and net interest income came in below forecasts. Net income rose to $11.95 billion, or $3.78 a share, from $4.69 billion, or $1.38 a share, in the year-ago period, compared with FactSet consensus for earnings per share at $3.20.
“This quarter we once again benefited from a significant reserve release as the environment continues to improve, but as we have said before, we do not consider these core or recurring profits,” said Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
However, shares of JPMorgan were trading lower Tuesday premarket after running up more than 24% year to date through Monday’s close.
Investors aren’t just keying in on the performance of institutions over the three-month period, but are also what what bank bosses, like Dimon, reveal about the health of the economic recovery from the COVID pandemic.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group
GS,
+2.35%
is also due ahead of the opening bell.
Also on Tuesday, investors are watching for an update on consumer prices due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with forecasts for inflation to climb sharply again in June, as the economic recovery gains steam and demand outpaces the supply of labor and materials.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones estimate that the CPI increased 5% in June from a year ago, matching May’s increase and continuing the highest 12-month rate since 2008. The so-called core price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, likely rose 4% from a year before, economists estimate.
Soaring inflation stems in large part from the reopening of the economy, but if prices pressure don’t ease in the near future it could put more stress on the U.S. recovery, some analysts fear.
Members of the Federal Reserve so far have insisted that inflation will wane soon once the U.S. and global economies regain a more normal footing, citing price pressures that have been mostly tied to temporary shortages that will fade away as supply catches up to demand.
Meanwhile, the president of the St. Louis Fed Jame Bullard said Tuesday the Federal Reserve should start reducing the stimulus it provides to the U.S. economy, though he added the reduction didn’t need to start immediately. “I think with the economy growing at 7% and the pandemic coming under better and better control, I think the time is right to pull back emergency measures,” he told the The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Tuesday.
Check out: MarketWatch’s column Need to Know
Which companies are in focus?
- Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has received reports of 100 people who got the Johnson & Johnson JNJ shot developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, an immune system disorder that can cause muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis.
- Shares of PepsiCo Inc. PEP were set to rally Tuesday, after the beverage and snacks company reported second-quarter profit and revenue that rose well above expectations and provided an upbeat full-year outlook.
- Canadian cannabis company Organigram Holdings Inc. OGI posted a narrower loss for its fiscal third quarter than in the same period a year ago as revenue topped estimates.
- Altus Power Inc., the Connecticut-based clean electrification ecosystem company, is going public through a merger announced Tuesday with special-purpose acquisition company CBRE Acquisition Holdings Inc. CBAH, a deal that values the combined company at $1.58 billion.
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Boeing Co.
BA,
-0.54%
shares slid 2% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the aerospace giant said it has identified additional work that is required on its undelivered 787s, delaying their delivery through the rest of 2021. - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM fell in 1.1% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the banking giant reported second-quarter a profit that more than doubled and revenue that beat expectations, even as markets revenue fell 30%, while net interest income fell below forecasts.
