Stock futures decline as investors gird for start of 2Q earnings

U.S. stock futures fell early on Tuesday as Wall Street looks ahead to what many expect will be the start of a volatile second quarter earnings season this week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped by 156 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.56% and 0.65%, respectively.

Shares of Gap fell more than 3% in extended trading after the apparel retailer said CEO and president Sonia Syngal is stepping down from her position.

The Dow on Monday’s session shed 164.31 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 2.3%.

Those moves come as investors prepare for companies to start reporting their latest results. Market participants will watch for downside risk to earnings forecasts as companies grapple with rising interest rates and greater inflationary pressures, and as Wall Street debates the likelihood of a recession.

“In terms of S&P earnings, for instance, we think we’re already moving towards an earnings recession,” Marathon Asset Management’s Bruce Richards said Monday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

“Companies are getting squeezed at all sides, they’re getting squeezed on cost of goods and the wages and all things that go into input from our manufacturing goals or services. And on the other end, we think revenues are starting to flatten before turning down at a time when interest cost is going up…That’s a lot of downgrades, a lot of potential defaults coming from the system as a result of higher charges.”

On the earnings front, traders will pore through several major corporate reports this week. On Tuesday, PepsiCo is set to report earnings before the market opens. Other companies due to report include Delta Air Lines on Wednesday, and JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup on Thursday and Friday.

Market participants will carefully assess June’s consumer price index report on Wednesday. The headline inflation number, including food and energy, is expected to rise to 8.8% from May’s level of 8.6%, according to estimates from Dow Jones.