S&P500: US Indices Edge Lower Today as Earnings, Fed Meeting, Shutdown Loom

Futures Edge Lower as Traders Brace for Earnings and Fed Meeting

U.S. stock index futures are trading steady to lower in the pre-market session as traders absorbed last week’s geopolitical tensions and now face a new week featuring major earnings reports and a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.

At 13:37 GMT, E-mini Dow Futures are trading 49274.00, up 11.00 or +0.02%. E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are at 6944.75, down 1.00 or -0.01% and E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index futures are trading 25692.50, down 45.75 or -0.18%.

Government Shutdown Fears Weigh on Market Sentiment

Additionally, sentiment is taking a hit on concerns the U.S. government is heading for a partial shutdown. A funding bill to keep the government open requires support from all Republicans and some Democrats to pass. However, Democrats withdrew their support following the killing of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, while Republicans stood pat. Unless there is a change, the government will shut down.

Pre-Market Movers: Rare Earth, Gold Miners, and Airlines

Despite the relatively flat trade ahead of the cash market opening, there are several stocks making more pronounced moves before the bell. USA Rare Earth shares rose more than 21% after the Trump administration took a stake in the rare earths miner, CNBC reported. The company will issue 16.1 million shares of common stock and 17.6 million in warrants.

Gold miner Allied Gold climbed more than 3% after it agreed to be acquired by Hong Kong-based Zijin Gold for C$5.5 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close by late April, according to CNBC. Shares of Newmont also climbed more than 4% as gold prices scaled record levels. The safe-haven asset rallied above $5100 for the first time earlier today.

With winter storms battering the East Coast, airline stocks fell amid concerns of flight cancellations and delays. Shares of United Airlines and American Airlines dropped nearly 1%, each. Shares of Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines were also lower.

Earnings Season Heats Up with Big Tech Reports

Earnings are at the forefront with more than 90 S&P 500 companies posting quarterly reports this week, including Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla. After two weeks of Q4 earnings season, the results have been strong, with 76% of the companies that have reported beating expectations, per FactSet.

Traders are also eyeing the Federal Reserve this week on Wednesday. Policymakers are expected to keep its overnight rate unchanged, however, investors will be looking for clues on when Fed officials will cut rates during Fed Chair Powell’s post-announcement press conference.

Technical Analysis: S&P 500 Tests Key Support at 50-Day MA

Technically, March E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are lower, but showing some resilience after a successful early morning test of the 50-day moving average at 6896.24. The index also briefly turned lower for the year before recovering.

Following the early technical bounce, the index jumped into the short-term retracement zone at 6925.50 to 6951.50. Trader reaction to this zone should set the tone today.

A sustained move over 6951.50 will signal the presence of buyers. If this creates enough upside momentum then look for a surge into 6969.00 or even higher.

A sustained move under 6925.50 will indicate the presence of sellers. This could lead to a retest of the 50-day moving average and today’s early low at 6879.00. If the low fails as support, we could see an acceleration to the downside.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.