Here are five things you must know for Monday, January 31:
1. -- Stock Futures Mixed In Final Session of Bruising January Trading
U.S. equity futures traded mixed Monday, while Treasury bond yields were held in check and the dollar eased against its global peers, as investors looked to exit a bruising January while grappling with the same concerns over inflation, Fed rates and the pace of the global recovery.
With the S&P 500 looking at a month-to-date decline of around 7%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq down 11%, stocks are off to one of their worst opening months on record this year as the sky-high valuations from December give way to re-pricings based on impending rate hikes, slowing corporate profits and a weakening global economy.
None of this is helped by the Fed's renewed ambition to fight inflation, which remains cemented at the highest levels in 40 years, and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic's suggestion of a possible 50 basis point rate hike in March over the weekend has clearly put markets on edge.
Added to that are concerns over the escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow, the Saturday launch of an ICBM by North Korea and data from China showing a notable slowdown, but still modest growth, in the world's second-largest economy.
So, with a spate of top-tier earnings on tap for this week, as well as a key reading on January job gains on Friday, stocks are set to close out the month on a cautious note, with futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicating a 160 point opening bell decline while those linked to the S&P 500 are priced for a 7 point dip.
Nasdaq Composite futures are suggesting a modest 55 point boost with Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA) and AMD (AMD) leading pre-market gainers on the tech-focused benchmark.
2. -- Earnings Week Ahead: Google, Facebook and Amazon in Focus
A light calendar of economic data will put corporate earnings center-stage on Wall Street this week as investors gauge the impact of supply chain disruptions and input cost hikes on America Inc.'s bottom line.
Around 108 S&P 500 companies will report December quarter earnings this week, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) on Tuesday, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (FB) on Wednesday and Amazon (AMZN), the world's largest online retailer, on Thursday.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) (Tuesday), T-Mobile US (TMUS) (Wednesday) Ford Motor (F) (Thursday) and Bristol-Myers (BMY) (Friday) are notable earnings highlights across the week.
Fourth quarter earnings have been muted through this reporting reason, with the average earnings 'beat' coming in around 5% ahead of Street forecasts. Still, of the 169 companies reporting so far, more than 80% have topped Street forecasts, and collective S&P 500 profits are expected to grow 25.2% to a share-weighted $441.3 billion.
However, based on forward projections and corporate outlooks, that growth rate will slow to just 6.8% over the three months ending in January, with the whole of 2022 seeing earnings advance just 8.4% - a far cry from the 20%-plus rates of the past year.
3. -- Citrix Shares Slide Amid Reports of $13 billion Private Equity Bid
Citrix Systems (CTXS) shares moved lower in pre-market trading amid reports that two private equity groups are lining-up a $13 billion takeover bid for the cloud computing group.
Multiple media reports suggest that Elliott Management Corp and Vista Equity Partners are prepared to pay $104 a share for the Ft. Lauderdale-based group, a 14% discount to its Friday closing price of $105.50 each.
Elliot, which unveiled a $1 billion stake in Citrix last summer but has been an investor in the company since 2015, has been pressing the group to capitalize on its foothold in the remote work space.
Citrix shares were marked 3.9% lower in pre-market trading Monday to indicate an opening bell price of $101.41 each.
4. -- Joe Rogan Apologies, Spotify Vows Warning Labels
Spotify Technology (SPOT) shares edged higher in pre-market trading as the group moved to draw a line under the controversy surrounding allegations of vaccine misinformation being shared on its podcast platform.
Joe Rogan, host of the world's most popular podcast and a vocal vaccine skeptic, issued a public apology late Sunday on his verified Instagram account for sharing his views on controversial subjects.
The move followed a boycott from Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, who demanded his work be removed from Spotify's music platform in protest of Rogan's views on vaccination, as well as a series of high-profile criticism from public figures such as Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
Spotify, for its part, vowed to place advisory labels on podcasts dealing with sensitive topics.
"There’s been a lot of conversation about information regarding COVID-19 on Spotify," CEO Daniel Elk said through his verified Twitter account. "We’ve heard the criticism and we’re implementing changes to help combat misinformation."
Spotify shares were marked 1.17% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $175.00 each.
5. -- Rams Favored Over Bengals in Super Bowl LVI
The Los Angeles Rams were installed as the favorite to win Super Bowl LVI late Sunday following a 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers that puts the team on their home field against the underdog Cincinnati Bengals.
The Rams, lead by quarterback Matthew Stafford, all-pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp and three-time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald, are 3.5 point favorites in Las Vegas over the Bengals, who won a thrilling comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday on the arm of their second year quarterback, Joe Burrow, and the foot of cool-headed rookie kicker Evan McPherson, who nailed a 31-yard overtime field goal to topple the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Super Bowl LVI will be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday February 13, with kick-off slated for 6:30 pm Eastern time. Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC network will broadcast the game, which is expected to draw more than 100 million viewers.
