MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Poised To Build On Rally, With Flood Of Earnings Ahead
April 25 2017 - 6:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
McDonald's, Caterpillar among companies set to report
results
U.S. stocks look set to continue the start-of-the-week rally, as
investors focus on the prospect of tax reforms, though a flood of
earnings from the likes of Caterpillar Inc. and McDonald's Corp
could affect gains.
Investors will also be watching for data on confidence, home
prices and home sales.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 47 points, or 0.2%, to
20,743, while S&P 500 futures added 2.75 points to 2,372.75.
Nasdaq-100 futures added 8 points to 5,512.
Investors will be eager to see if stocks can make it another
winning session going after Monday's rally
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-poised-to-rally-as-investors-breathe-sigh-of-relief-over-french-vote-2017-04-24),
which was inspired by centrist Emmanuel Macron's win in the first
round of the French presidential election. The DJIA soared 216.13
points, or 1.1%, to close at 20,763.89, while the S&P 500
gained 1.1% to end at 2,374.15.
Logging a record close, the Nasdaq Composite finished 1.2%
higher at 5,983.82.
Analysts said the focus on European politics was being replaced
by U.S. concerns. These include the tax reforms promised for
Wednesday from the administration of U.S. President Trump, who will
mark his first 100 days in office on Saturday.
Read: Trump seeks corporate tax rate of 15% in plan
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-seeks-corporate-tax-rate-of-15-in-plan-2017-04-24)
Bank stocks gained Monday, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR
ETF (XLF) , which tracks the S&P 500's financials up 2.25% and
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) , for instance, up nearly 3%.
That positive momentum could continue, "particularly if Trump
can kick-start his reform plans around taxation," Chris Beauchamp,
chief market analyst at IG, said in a note to clients.
In the back of investors' minds are worries about a potential
government shutdown on Saturday. But those may have eased, after
Trump backed off on a demand for border wall funding
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-backs-off-demand-for-immediate-border-wall-funding-2017-04-24)
seen as blocking a deal.
See:Should Wall Street fear a government shutdown? How stocks
fared in the past
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-wall-street-fear-a-government-shutdown-heres-how-stocks-fared-during-past-closures-2017-04-21)
Turning to data, the Case-Shiller U.S. home-price index for
February will be released at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. The Conference
Board's consumer confidence survey for April and new-home sales for
March are both due at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Check out:After 17 years, S&P 500 tech sector finally
regains lost ground
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after-17-years-sp-500-tech-sector-finally-regains-lost-ground-2017-04-24)
Stocks on the move: An long list of companies are expected
report ahead of the open: Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) , McDonald's Corp.
(MCD) , DuPont (DD) , Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) , Biogen Inc.
(BIIB) , Coca-Cola Co. (KO) , Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and 3M
Co. (MMM) .
Read:Three infrastructure stocks to buy -- regardless of Trump's
spending plans
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/three-infrastructure-stocks-to-buy-regardless-of-trumps-spending-plans-2017-04-25)
Other markets: European stocks rose modestly
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-snag-modest-gains-after-french-election-rally-2017-04-25)
after the prior day's French election rally, while in Asia ,
equities rose across the board
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-build-on-gains-and-this-time-china-joins-in-2017-04-24).
Investors in Asia were keeping a close eye on tensions in the
Korean Peninsula. North Korea marked the anniversary of the
founding its military with a large live-fire exercise, as a U.S.
aircraft carrier strike group headed for the peninsula, reported
Reuters
(http://nypost.com/2017/04/25/north-korea-reportedly-conducts-live-fire-exercise-as-us-sub-docks-in-the-south/).
There had been concerns that North Korea could mark Tuesday's
anniversary with another nuclear test of that of a long-range
missile.
See:White House calls in all 100 senators for unusual briefing
on North Korea
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-to-brief-full-senate-as-trump-calls-north-korea-real-threat-to-the-world-2017-04-24)
The dollar rose against the yen, but fell against the euro and British pound .
Oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-rises-as-bargain-hunters-snap-to-attention-2017-04-25)
marked gains after Monday's sharp pullback, while gold prices saw
fresh losses, down $5.90 to $1,271.70 an ounce.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2017 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.