US Stocks Poised To Open Week Higher Even As CPI, Fed Catalysis Loom — Why Microsoft, Coupa And This Tesla Rival Are In Focus Today

The U.S. index futures point to a higher open for Wall Street stocks on Monday following a down week. The mood is likely to remain cautious as the market navigates through a trio of key economic catalysts over the week.

Recession fears overwhelmed traders in the week ended Dec. 9, dragging the major averages lower. The Dow Industrials settled at a one-month low by a virtue of an over 2% drop, while the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back over 3% each.

Here’s a peek into index futures trading:

In premarket trading on Monday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.22% to $394.16 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ advanced 0.24% to $282.71, according to Benzinga Pro data.

The economic calendar for the day is light and no noteworthy numbers are due. The New York Federal Reserve’s one-year and five-year inflation expectations are slated for release at 11 a.m. EST.

The U.S. Treasury will auction 3-month and 6-month bills and 3-year and 10-year notes at 11:30 a.m. EST.

The Federal Budget for November is due at 2 p.m. EST.

The spotlight will be on Wednesday’s rate decision, with the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, the policy-setting arm of the central bank, widely expected to announce a 50-basis-point increment to the fed funds rate. This would mark a slowdown from the 75 basis point hikes announced in each of the four previous meetings.

Two rate decisions from across the Atlantic, both due Thursday, will also garner some attention.

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Stocks In Focus:

Microsoft Corp. announced a 10-year partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group plc LNSTY that could net the company at least $2.8 billion over the agreement period. The software giant also agreed to pick up about a 4% stake in the exchange. Microsoft shares have not budged in premarket trading.

Rivian Automotive Holding, Inc. RIVN shares declined over 4% after the company scrapped an electric commercial van-making partnership with Mercedes-Benz Group AG MBGAF.

Coupa Software, Inc. COUP jumped over 23% after Bloomberg reported that Thoma Bravo is close to announcing a deal to buy the cloud software vendor. The company is also scheduled to report earnings after the market close.

Oracle Corp. ORC is scheduled to report earnings after the market close.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts Limited WYNN fell over 3% in premarket trading.

Commodities, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures are down for a sixth straight session amid worries over waning demand amid an anticipated economic slowdown world over. A barrel of WTI-grade crude oil declined 0.51% but held above the $70-a-barrel level.

The Asia-Pacific markets were swathed in a blanket of red on Monday, as traders in the region reacted to the negative close by Wall Street stocks on Friday and a potential rate hike by the U.S. Fed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was the worst-performing average in the region as it slid by over 2%. The Indonesian market bucked the downtrend with a modest gain.

European stocks opened notably lower but cut some of the losses in early trading.

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