Stock Futures Are Off to Positive Start Ahead of Monday’s Session

After finishing last week on a high note, with the S&P 500 back in record territory and posting its third week in a row of gains, all eyes are on the Fed. The S&P 500 finished last week at 4,247.44, a gain of more than 8% on the day and up slightly for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, closed higher on Friday but declined slightly for the week. S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq futures are all trading slightly in the green in early evening on Sunday, as is the oil price.

DeMark Analytics Founder Tom DeMark was cited by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as saying that the S&P 500 could reach ceilings of 4,335 and 4,344 in the near term.

Inflation & Rates

The markets could be tiptoeing around this week in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that begins on June 15. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some individual stocks could still move the markets, not to mention other key economic data.

As for Fed watch, while monetary policymakers aren’t expected to make any changes to interest rates, investors will be listening for the language as it relates to inflation and the outlook for rates.

Market Moving Economic Indicators

While the Fed is the highlight this week, there are several other key economic reports on tap for the week, including:

• Retail sales for May on Tuesday following unchanged results for April.
• Industrial production for May on Tuesday. Estimates by Wells Fargo economists are for an increase of 0.6%.
• Housing starts for May on Wednesday after falling 9.5% in April.

Stocks to Watch

Tesla is sure to be a stock to watch on Monday after CEO Elon Musk delivered some hopeful news to the bitcoin crowd. Musk tweeted that when approximately half of bitcoin mining is being completed with renewable energy sources with a “positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing bitcoin transactions.” The development might do more for the bitcoin price than Tesla.

Meme stocks will also be in the spotlight after taking investors on a roller coaster ride last week. In particular, Reddit’s WallStreetBets’ investors will try and keep the momentum going in popular stocks after Friday’s gains in GameStop and AMC Entertainment as well as meme-stock newcomer Clover Health.

Last week, AMC closed below the USD 50 level after surpassing it on June 2. GameStop’s earnings are in the rear-view mirror and its stock price has dipped well below the USD 300 mark. Clover is similarly off last week’s high of more than USD 22. Short interest remains high in these names while retail investors strive to create a short squeeze.