U.S. stock futures fell on Monday after Friday’s higher close. This followed President Donald Trump‘s rejection of Iran’s response to a U.S.-backed peace proposal.
Trump took to Truth Social and wrote, “I have just read the response … I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
On the economic front, investors will be looking out for the crucial consumer price and producer price indexes’ reports this week. Companies like Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Alibaba Group Holding ADR (NYSE:BABA), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), and Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMS) will report earnings this week.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.38%, and the two-year bond was at 3.92%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 93.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.05% |
| S&P 500 | -0.05% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.04% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.18% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 0.085% at $736.99, while the QQQ declined 0.065% to $710.60.
Stocks In Focus
Antelope Enterprise Holdings
- Antelope Enterprise Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:AEHL) surged 15.83% in premarket on Monday after it unveiled $190,000 in realized gains from its “Genius Plan,” a dynamic Bitcoin-focused digital asset management strategy.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that AEHL maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms.
Moderna
- Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares jumped 8.57% as traders reacted to peer-reviewed Phase 3 flu-vaccine data. Here's what investors need to know.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MRNA maintains a strong price trend in the long and medium terms but a weak trend in the short term.
Micron Technologies
- Micron Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) rose 2.10% after the memory-linked chipmaker logged 35% week-to-date gains last week, the stock's best week since December 2008.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MU maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid quality score.
Innodata
- Innodata Inc. (NASDAQ:INOD) fell 2.82% after surging 86% on Friday as the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and issued FY26 sales guidance above estimates.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that INOD maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value score.
Fluor
- Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR) rose 1.29% after falling over 15% on Friday as it y reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FLR maintains a weak price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor growth score.
Cues From Last Session
Information technology, consumer discretionary, materials, and real estate stocks closed higher on Friday, while S&P 500 sectors like utilities, health care, financials, energy, and industrials ended negatively.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | 0.025% | 49,609.16 |
| S&P 500 | 0.84% | 7,398.93 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.71% | 26,247.08 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.76% | 2,861.21 |
Insights From Analysts
Mohamed El-Erian paints a picture of a “striking divergence” between record-breaking stock markets and a fraying global economic backdrop.
While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continue to hit all-time highs, El-Erian warns that this optimism is increasingly decoupled from a reality defined by geopolitical instability and “stubborn” inflation.
A primary concern for El-Erian is the “persistence of the supply-side shock,” specifically citing the critical blockades in the Strait of Hormuz. He notes that if these disruptions remain “embedded in the price and quantity of goods,” the risk of secondary inflationary effects and demand destruction grows.
This creates a difficult environment for households, where gas prices and diesel are hitting record levels while “household sentiment [comes] in yet another record low.”
Regarding policy, El-Erian expects a “higher for longer” interest rate environment. He points out that markets have pushed expectations for Fed cuts “far into next year,” as the central bank grapples with a legacy of missed opportunities to contain inflation.
Ultimately, he cautions that while equity markets remain “impressively resilient,” the widening gap between capital markets and economic fundamentals suggests a period of intense “market calibration” and corporate margin pressure ahead.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this week.
- On Monday, April’s existing home sales data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Tuesday, New York Fed President John Williams will speak in Zurich at 3:15 a.m., and April’s NFIB optimism index will be released by 6:00 a.m. ET. April’s consumer price index, including year-over-year figures and core CPI data, will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee is scheduled to speak at 1:00 p.m., followed by the release of April’s monthly U.S. federal budget at 2:00 p.m. ET.
- On Wednesday, April’s producer price index, core PPI, and year-over-year PPI data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET. Boston Fed President Susan Collins will deliver a speech at 11:30 a.m. ET.
- On Thursday, April’s U.S. retail sales and retail sales minus autos, initial jobless claims for the week ending May 9, and April’s import price index data will all be released by 8:30 a.m. ET. March’s business inventories data will be out by 10:00 a.m. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack will give opening remarks at 1:00 p.m., New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 5:45 p.m., and Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr will speak at 7:00 p.m. ET.
- On Friday, May’s Empire State manufacturing survey will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET. April’s industrial production and capacity utilization data will be released by 9:15 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 2.22% to hover around $97.54 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.98% to hover around $4,668.54 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.09% higher at the 97.9850 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.06% lower at $80,807.11 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed mixed on Monday, as Japan's Nikkei 225, Australia's ASX 200, and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. While South Korea's Kospi, China’s CSI 300, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices rose. European markets were also mixed in early trade.
Photo: Shutterstock