US Stock Futures Fall As Markets Brace For Earnings From Microsoft, Meta, Apple And Apple This Week: 'Earnings Estimates Don't Signal A Recession' Says Leading Analyst

U.S. stock futures are down in early-morning trade on Monday, after ending the previous week on a high note, with back-to-back sessions of strong rallies.

The markets are jittery ahead of a packed earnings week, with four of the “Mag 7” — Microsoft MSFT, Meta Platforms META, Apple AAPL, Amazon AMZN — alongside several other heavy-hitters, set to release their results over the next few days.

Investors will be closely watching the results of Welltower Inc. WELL, Domino’s Pizza Inc. DPZ, and NXP Semiconductors N.V. NXPI on Monday to set the tone for the rest of this week.

U.S. 10-Year Treasuries are at 4.26%, while the 2-Year Treasuries are at 3.77%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows the markets pricing a 93.1% likelihood of interest rates remaining unchanged during the FOMC meeting, the first week of May, marking a decline from Friday, at 95.3%.

Futures	Change (+/-)
Dow Jones	-0.03%
S&P 500	-0.13%
Nasdaq 100	-0.11%
Russell 2000	-0.32%

The SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF SPY and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, are both down 0.27% and 0.28% in Monday’s pre-market trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From Last Week:

The markets were aided by strong earnings performances by AbbVie Inc. ABBV, but disappointing performances by Aon PLC AON and HCA Healthcare Inc. HCA weighed on the rally.

Consumer Sentiment Report (Final), released on Friday, highlighted an 8% slip in sentiments compared to the prior month, as uncertainties continue to persist, having an impact on consumer purchasing decisions.

The S&P 500 capped off the week on a high note on Friday, led by communications, consumer discretionary, healthcare, and technology. Financials, consumer staples, real estate, and materials were, however, in the red during the day.

As of Friday, the Nasdaq 100 is down 12.5% from its high of 22,222.61 points, the S&P 500 is down 10.1% from 6147.43 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 11% from 45,073.63 points.

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq Composite	1.26%	17,382.94
S&P 500	0.74%	5,525.21
Dow Jones	0.05%	40,113.50
Russell 2000	0.00014%	1,957.62

Insights From Analysts:

Analysts are rather upbeat going into this earnings week, with several leading experts pointing towards optimistic consensus estimates as a sign that the markets are yet to price in a recession or even a slowdown, for that matter, according to a report by FT.

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According to Daniel Von Ahlen of TS Lombard, “The information derived from risk assets doesn't even suggest markets reckon a mild slowdown will take shape this year.”

Peter Berezin, a chief global strategist at BCA Research, says that “typically earnings estimates decline during even mild recessions,” but the markets are now pricing a 10% earnings growth over the next twelve months, and that’s of “last year's peak profit margins no less,” he says.

Upcoming Economic Data:

There is no major economic data being released on Monday.

Stocks In Focus:

Welltower Inc. WELL is set to release its earnings after the markets close on Monday, and the stock is up 2% in pre-market trade, with analysts expecting $2.4 billion in revenue.
Waste Management Inc. WM is up 0.41% in pre-market trade, as investors await its quarterly earnings release. Analysts expect $6.1 billion in revenue and $1.59 per share in earnings.
Cadence Design Systems Inc. CDNS is largely flat pre-market, up by just 0.03%, with the company set to announce its earnings after markets close on Monday. Analysts expect $1.2 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $1.50.
Roper Technologies Inc. ROP is an industrial conglomerate that is scheduled to announce its first quarter results before the opening bell. Consensus estimates expect $1.9 billion in revenue and $4.74 per share in earnings.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. NXPI is up 0.59% pre-market and is set to announce its earnings after markets close. Analysts expect $2.8 billion in revenue and $2.18 per share in earnings.

Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures are trading down 0.46% during the early New York session, at $62.73 per barrel.

Gold Spot U.S. Dollar continued its decline, and is down 1.72% on Monday, trading at 3,275.24 per ounce, down from its record high of $3.400 per ounce last week. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is up 0.03%, trading at 99.626.

Asian markets were mixed on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ending up 0.38%, South Korea’s Kospi up 0.10%, followed by Indian, Australian, and New Zealand indexes edging up, with the only laggards being China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen. European markets are all up in early trade.

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