Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged lower Monday, handing back some of the previous week’s healthy gains as investors prepare for a raft of fresh corporate earnings.
By 06:45 ET (10:45 GMT), the Dow futures contract was down 80 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures traded 6 points, or 0.1% lower, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 7 points, or 0.1%.
The benchmark indices on Wall Street recorded a winning week last week, helped by softer-than-expected inflation data which advanced the theory that the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle will reach its peak after a last increase next week.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.3%, its best weekly gain since March, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 2.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.3%.
NY Empire State manufacturing index due
The data slate is largely empty Monday, with only the NY Empire State manufacturing index scheduled for release. But the week includes such numbers as U.S. retail sales, initial jobless claims and reports on building permits, housing starts, and existing home sales.
However, these numbers are unlikely to change the narrative that a 25-basis-point hike from the Fed later this month is likely to be the last one in this cycle.
Data from China, released earlier Monday, showed that growth in the second-largest economy in the world was slowing sharply, casting further doubt over the country's nascent rebound from its COVID hit.
China's second-quarter gross domestic product increased by 0.8% from the prior three-month period, a significant cooling from 2.2% growth in the first quarter.
More banks, Tesla and Netflix set to report this week
Positive quarterly results from banking giants JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) add to last week’s positive sentiment, although peer Citigroup's (NYSE:C) profit tumbled by over a third.
More lenders are due to reveal their earnings this week, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).
These numbers are likely to come under heavy scrutiny in the wake of the failure of several regional rivals earlier this year, an event that plunged the financial services industry into crisis.
Elon Musk-led electric carmaker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and carrier United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) are also among the key businesses scheduled to report this week.
Tesla completes Cybertruck
Elsewhere, Tesla is likely to be in the spotlight after the EV manufacturer said on Sunday it had built its first Cybertruck, after two years of delays.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) stock rose premarket after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it has signed an agreement with Sony (NYSE:SONY) to keep the popular gaming franchise “Call of Duty” on PlayStation, potentially overcoming a key hurdle facing its $69 billion purchase of the video game manufacturer.
Crude hit by weak Chinese growth
Oil prices fell Monday after the disappointing Chinese growth numbers raised concerns about future demand from the world’s largest crude importer.
Additionally, two of the three Libyan oil fields that were shut down on Thursday, including the country’s second-largest, Sharara, resumed production over the weekend.
The news that Russia has withdrawn from the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal added extra volatility to the market, given the uncertainty surrounding the West’s response.
By 06:45 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 1.4% lower at $74.25 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 1.4% to $78.73.
Both benchmarks recorded a third straight week of gains last week, climbing to their highest levels since April.
Additionally, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,962.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.1236.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)