US futures rise as earnings growth and economic signals approach. From Investing.com

Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher in evening trading on Sunday after hitting record highs on Wall Street. Cautiously optimistic sentiment remained ahead of further clues on interest rates and corporate profits this week.

It was up 0.1% at 5,334.25 points, up 0.1% at 18,661.50 points at 19:23 ET (23:23 GMT). It rose 0.1% to 40,179.0 points.

More Fed signals and PMI data coming this week.

The focus this week will be on the Federal Reserve providing more clues on the path of interest rates, with the central bank’s late-April meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

The bank kept interest rates steady and warned that it needed more certainty that inflation would fall. But Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said interest rates were expected to eventually be cut in 2024.

Several Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak this week, most notably members of the Fed’s interest rate setting committee.

The Fed’s signal comes amid growing interest in the bank’s interest rate cut plans. This is especially true after inflation figures eased slightly in April, raising the possibility of a rate cut in September.

In addition to more clues on interest rates, markets were also awaiting May data, which would provide more clues on US corporate activity. Any signs of cooling could affect the prospects for a rate cut.

Wall Street has lost momentum since record highs

Wall Street indexes hit record highs last week but still seemed lacking momentum due to uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates.

In particular, overheated valuations in the technology sector and hype around artificial intelligence also limited the index’s gains.

On Friday, it rose 0.1% to 5,303.27 points and fell 0.1% to 16,685.97 points. It rose 0.3% to 40,003.59 points.

NVIDIA first quarter earnings close this week

This week’s focus was on AI darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:)’s quarterly earnings to see if the company can justify its massive rise in value over the past year.

According to Reuters estimates, Nvidia is expected to record significant earnings growth, with sales expected to rise to $24.8 billion from $7.2 billion last year and earnings per share expected to rise to $5.57 from $1.09 last year.

Nvidia’s earnings are also expected to determine the trajectory of other technology stocks, given its growing exposure to AI.