Stocks futures up slightly ahead of big earnings week

U.S. stocks started the week wavering as Wall Street awaits earnings from the market’s biggest players.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged higher 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ticked up 0.5%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slid by nearly 0.1% at the open.

Treasury yields retreated after a relentless climb last week that saw the 10-year note temporarily hit a 14-year high above 4.3%. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that some Federal Reserve officials were concerned with the pace of the interest rate hikes ahead of their November meeting.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said that the central bank should avoid putting the economy into an “unforced downturn” and that it’s time to consider slowing the pace of interest rate hikes.

“I think that is the wrong message,” Interactive Brokers Chairman and Founder Thomas Peterffy told Yahoo Finance Live on Friday following Daly’s remarks. “I think the Fed has to send the message that we are going to stamp out inflation, no matter what. And they are in a better position if they can scare the market into easing up on spending rather than having to force them to ease up on it.”

On the earnings front, the five biggest tech firms – Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (FB), Apple (AAPL), and Amazon (AMZN) – which alone represent roughly a quarter of the S&P 500 index’s market capitalization — are set to release their figures this week.

Third-quarter earnings have come in better than expected so far, with beats from companies like Netflix (NFLX), AT&T (T), and IBM (IBM) countering misses from companies like Snap (SNAP), which tumbled 28% Friday after disappointing results.

Data from FactSet shows that S&P 500 companies that have missed expectations this earnings season have fallen 4.7% on average in the two days before their report through the two days after, compared with the five-year average of 2.2%.

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Still, overall investor expectations are relatively lower than usual.

“Earnings expectations, if you strip out the energy sector, they went from about positive 6% back in July for this quarter’s earnings, all the way down to… negative 3%,” BMO Wealth Management Chief Investment Strategist Yung-Yu Ma told Yahoo Finance Live on Friday. “And so once you lower the bar that much, it does set up an environment where it’s a lot easier to beat earnings, a lot easier to have relief rallies.”

Strength in the U.S. dollar has weighed on corporate profits hard. The dollar gained on Monday against the Chinese yuan weakened. In the European markets, the pound traded stronger as U.K. government bonds rallied after Boris Johnson pulled out of the race for prime minister, leaving former chancellor Rishi Sunak closer to becoming the next prime minister.

Elsewhere, Chinese stocks saw their worst day since 2008 and U.S.-listed Chinese stocks Alibaba (BABA) and JD.com Inc. (JD) tumbled Monday as President Xi Jinping embarked on a precedent-breaking third term controlling over the ruling Communist Party.

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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv

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