(Reuters) -Futures for Wall Street’s main indexes were higher on Monday, kicking off a packed week that includes AI giant Nvidia’s earnings and resumption of government data releases, while Alphabet jumped after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the company.
Google-parent Alphabet gained 5.6% in premarket trading after Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new $4.3 billion stake in the company and further reduced its stake in Apple.
Apple shares, down 0.3%, lagged most megacap and growth stocks.
Nvidia’s shares inched 0.4% higher ahead of its quarterly earnings after markets close on Wednesday. The company has been a bellwether for AI-related stocks that have propped up several tech names in this year’s Wall Street rally.
At 5:02 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 29.5 points, or 0.44%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 173.5 points, or 0.69%, and Dow E-minis were up 55 points, or 0.12%.
The quarterly earnings season will start to thin out this week, though not before earnings from retail giants Walmart, Home Depot and Target throughout the week.
Of the 456 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings for the quarter, 82.7% topped profit estimates compared with a long-term average of 67.2%, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Third-quarter earnings growth is estimated at 16.9% as of last week, the highest since the fourth quarter of 2024.
With the longest government shutdown in U.S. history officially ending last week, key data releases from government agencies are expected in the next few days.
The much-delayed September jobs report will also be released on Thursday, but may do little more than confirm earlier private market surveys showing the labor market had slowed.
Traders currently see a more than 56% chance that the Federal Reserve will hold its rate steady in December compared with a near 94% chance of a 25-basis-point cut seen a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“If there is a great deal of uncertainty about the economy, a lower interest rate, rather than a higher one, should be a reasonable conclusion. However, this view does not seem to be shared by the majority in the Fed,” SEB strategists wrote in a note.
On Monday, at least four Fed speakers including Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams are slated to speak throughout the day.
Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting – where it cut rates by an expected 25 basis points – are due on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks have run into turbulence of late as investors fretted about the pace of rate cuts and elevated valuations of heavyweight technology stocks that have been one of the key drivers of markets this year.
The S&P 500 and the Dow clocked marginal weekly gains on Friday, while the Nasdaq recorded a mild weekly fall.
Among other early moving stocks, Quantum Computing rose 20.2% after the photonics and quantum optics tech provider reported higher third-quarter revenue.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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