Stock futures were slightly lower early Monday morning as Wall Street looks to shake off a losing week.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 90 points, or around 0.26%. Those for the S&P 500 shed 0.56%, while Nasdaq 100 futures ticked 1% lower.
Those moves came as U.S. Treasury yields continued their upward trek following a Friday jump that saw the benchmark 10-year yield hitting a 3-year high. Early Monday morning, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note sat at 2.7553%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Wall Street is coming off a negative week, with the tech sector being a source of concern. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.9% last week, while the S&P 500 and Dow dropped 1.3% and 0.3%, respectively.
The health-care sector was a bright spot, gaining more than 3%.
The fight against inflation is likely to be a market driver this week. Investors will get a look at fresh data, with the consumer price index for March due out on Tuesday and the producer price index following on Wednesday.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Meester told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that she still believes the Fed can get inflation under control without causing major damage to the economy.
“If you look at the risks, given what’s happening in the world and in the economy, there is an increased risk [of recession],” she said. “But I remain optimistic, and certainly my modal forecast on what is going to happen this year is that the expansion will continue.”
Meester added that the Covid lockdowns in China will “exacerbate” the supply chain issues that are contributing to inflation in the U.S.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of the country has caused volatility in oil and other commodities markets, which has, in turn, disturbed stocks.
Later this week, the first-quarter earnings season will hit its stride, with JPMorgan Chase and Delta set to report results on Wednesday morning.
