Dipo Olowookere
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday following the mixed performance seen last week.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement.
Following the lackluster performance seen on Thursday, stocks saw modest weakness during trading on Friday. Selling pressure was somewhat subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.
The major averages ended the day slightly lower but well off their worst levels. The Dow dipped 31.71 points or 0.2 percent to 21,580.07, the Nasdaq slipped 2.25 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,387.75 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.91 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,472.54.
For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. The Dow fell by 0.3 percent, while the Nasdaq surged up by 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.5 percent.
A negative reaction to earnings news from some big-name companies weighed on Wall Street, with shares of General Electric (GE) showing a notable decline.
GE slumped by 2.9 percent after the conglomerate reported better than expected second quarter earnings but warned of full-year profits at the low end of its forecasts.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) also moved lower on the day even though the software giant reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded forecasts.
On the other hand, credit card giant Visa (V) posted a strong gain after reporting fiscal third quarter results that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Shares of Capital One (COF) moved sharply higher after the lender and credit card issuer reported better than expected second quarter results.
Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.
Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets also contributed to the choppy trading following the recent move to record highs by the major averages.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable weakness was visible among oil service stocks.
Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index tumbled by 2.3 percent. The slump by oil service stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Steel stocks also saw significant weakness, resulting in a 1.3 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index pulled back further off the four-month closing high set on Wednesday.
Electronic storage, semiconductor, and banking stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while some strength was visible among housing, utilities, and gold stocks.
