By Ragini Mathur and Purvi Agarwal
Oct 12 (Reuters) – US stock indexes were on track for a muted open on Monday as investors watched oil prices and global events ahead of crucial bank earnings and inflation data due later in the week that are widely expected to influence the central bank’s rate path.
Brent crude futures rose to their highest level in about two weeks, trading at more than $106 a barrel after deadly strikes on Riyadh’s international airport over the weekend. [O/R]
The rise was contained, however, after President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy facilities following a US diesel-supply deal with Moscow. Details of the agreement were not clear and the plan faces opposition in Washington.
Earnings season begins on Tuesday, with major US banks including Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase scheduled to report first.
S&P 500 earnings are expected to jump 30.6% in the third quarter, according to LSEG IBES data.
“The big themes to watch in earnings season include how companies are deploying and profiting from AI,” said Clark Bellin, president and chief investment officer, Bellwether Wealth.
“Whether they are able to maintain or raise pricing power, and how they are navigating the surge in borrowing costs, which is a dynamic that companies did not have to grapple with one year ago.”
At 08:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 70 points, or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis gained 4.25 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis fell 68.25 points, or 0.22%.
The three major indexes had ended higher last week on optimism about an AI-driven third-quarter earnings season and hope the Fed may avoid near-term rate hikes.
Recent data showing a lower-than-expected rise in inflation and weaker jobs growth also helped knock off bets of imminent hikes.
Treasury yields climbed to 24-year highs earlier this month as elevated energy prices stoked concerns inflation could remain sticky, potentially keeping policymakers hawkish and pressuring equity valuations.
The US Treasury market is closed for Columbus Day on Monday.
Investors will also be watching this week’s US consumer and producer price data as well as retail sales figures. Higher energy prices are expected to push headline CPI up 3.7% annually, while core inflation is seen rising at a more modest annual rate of 2.5%.
Markets are pricing in just a 19% chance the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
In premarket movers, IREN’s shares rose 3.5% after The Information reported Anthropic had entered into a multi-year cloud deal with the data-center firm.
Quantum computing firm IonQ’s shares slipped 4% after the company said it had struck an all-stock deal to buy privately held cybersecurity firm Elisity in a transaction valued at up to $1.3 billion.
Salesforce gained 4% after BofA Global Research double-upgraded its rating to “buy” from “underperform”.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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