5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday

Here are the most important news items traders need to start their trading day:

Stock futures were lower on Monday, as Wall Street kicked off a new month after a strong July gain. All three major US stock indexes recorded their best months of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.1% and 6.7% respectively in July, their biggest monthly gain since November 2020. Nasdaq Composite outperformed and ended a three-month slide. The index jumped 12.35% in July for its best month since April 2020, thanks to strong growth in the tech sector.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, as energy markets digested poor factory data from China and Japan, and prepare for OPEC and its oil-producing allies to decide on September output by the end of the week. West Texas Intermediate futures, the US oil benchmark, traded about 1.5% lower on Monday, while international benchmark Brent oil futures fell about 1.1%. WTI and Brent fell for a second straight month in July as recession fears weighed on prices, their first two-month losing streak since October 2020. The so-called OPEC+ group will meet on Tuesday. April to discuss whether to keep the September output plan stable. modest increase in output, according to Reuters.

It was another crowded week for Wall Street earnings, after tech heavyweights including Apple and Amazon posted quarterly numbers in recent days. In total, 148 companies in the S&P 500 are expected to release results over the next five days, including Caterpillar, JetBlue and Starbucks on Tuesday, followed by Yum Brands and Booking Holdings on Wednesday. In addition to the dense earnings report, the July nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday morning. Investors are looking forward to that key labor market announcement as they seek more insight into the health of the US economy amid recession fears.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Sunday he focuses on inflation data – it’s not about arguing about whether the US economy is in a recession. Meanwhile discussion intensified last weekend when an advance estimate of second-quarter GDP shows negative reading, the central bank official told CBS he is focusing more on other economic data right now. Kashkari said in an interview on “Face the Nation”. “I focus on inflation data. I focus on wages data. And so far, inflation continues to surprise us in the opposite direction. Wages continue to rise.” CNBC’s Cameron Albert-Deitch has more on Kashkari’s comment here.

During a recent hands-on meeting, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees at the tech giant that their productivity needed to be improved and asked them to assist in creating a culture. become “more mission-focused”, among other things. “It is clear that we are facing a challenging macro environment with a lot of uncertainty ahead,” Pichai said, adding later: “There are real concerns that our productivity general is not the level necessary for the number of heads we have.” Read Jennifer Elias’ full CNBC report here.

– CNBC by Jennifer Elias, Cameron Albert-Deitch, Patti Domm and Christopher Hayes contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed.

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