Investing.com – U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, continuing last week’s positive tone amid generally positive earnings from technology companies ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
At 06:35 ET (1035 GMT), the price was up 52 points, or 0.1%, up 8 points, or 0.2%, and up 43 points, or 0.2%.
Huge first-quarter earnings from tech giants Alphabet (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) sparked a rally in tech stocks last week on hopes that demand for artificial intelligence will help keep earnings and valuations positive in the coming months.
That helped the tech giant outperform rivals on Friday, rising 2%, while shares also rose 1% to edge up 0.4%.
Earnings season continues
Earnings season continues this week with more big Wall Street companies reporting in the coming days.
After a relatively quiet day on Monday, Amazon (NASDAQ:), Coca-Cola (NYSE:), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:) will report earnings on Tuesday.
Fed meeting in focus as rate cut bets ease
Activity is likely to be quiet this week ahead of the US Bank’s policy-setting meeting.
The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged in May, and bets are also rising that the Fed will not begin cutting rates until September or the fourth quarter, amid persistent inflation and some resilience in U.S. consumer spending.
Friday’s measure of inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure, was higher than expected in March, raising concerns that the Fed has little confidence to begin cutting interest rates and that the central bank is likely to keep rates high for longer.
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Oil falls amid hopes for peace in the Middle East
Oil prices fell on Monday as peace talks between Israel and Hamas eased concerns about wider conflict in the Middle East and the potential for supply disruptions from the vital region.
By 06:35 ET, U.S. crude oil futures were trading 0.3% lower at $83.63 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.3% to $87.93 a barrel.
A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo on Monday for talks aimed at securing a ceasefire, a Hamas spokesman told Reuters on Sunday. The group is expected to respond to Israel’s latest proposal for a phased truce in the Gaza Strip, presented on Saturday.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)