Investing.com -- U.S. stocks traded in a sedate fashion Monday, as investors awaited key earnings from chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) as well as comments from a series of Fed officials.
By 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 95 points, or 0.2% and the S&P 500 index traded 4 points, or 0.1%, lower, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 25 points, or 0.1%.
The three main indices retreated last week, falling back from the recent highs seen in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win after Fed chief Jerome Powell warned that the US central bank was not “in a hurry” to cut interest rates further.
S&P pullback started?
The pullback in the broad-based S&P 500 may have already started, with the index potentially retreating by 5%-10%, according to RBC Capital Markets strategists.
The investment bank cited several factors as to why the S&P 500 could retreat, including stretched valuations, positioning in futures markets, and a recent history of bullish sentiment. These elements have historically preceded similar market downturns since late 2022.
Nvidia earnings in focus
Nvidia's earnings will be in the spotlight this week, with the chipmaker, a bellwether for this year’s AI craze, due to report third quarter results after the close on Wednesday.
The results could well be a gauge for investors’ appetite for tech stocks, the AI trade and sentiment for equities broadly, after a post-election market rally stalled.
Nvidia’s chips are seen as the gold standard in the AI-space and its shares have risen around 200% this year, overtaking Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to become the world's largest company by market capitalization.
Its shares fell 2% on concerns over a slower pace of growth, with the company expected to report that its third-quarter sales surged 82.8% to $33.13 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
This would mark the slowest growth in six quarters, with its sales at least doubling in the previous five.
There are also results due this week from the likes of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) Companies, which will give fresh insights into the strength of consumer spending.
So far 93% of S&P 500 companies have reported results, and three-quarters of them have reported a positive EPS surprise and 61% have reported a positive revenue surprise, according to data from FactSet.
Tesla soars on self-driving hopes
Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock soared over 6% following reports from Bloomberg that the incoming Trump administration will establish a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles and make it a top priority for the Department of Transportation.
Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) is also in the spotlight after the budget carrier filed for bankruptcy protection after years of mounting losses, stating that it has reached a prearranged deal with its bondholders to help it through the bankruptcy, which it expects to exit in the first quarter of next year.
PMI data in spotlight
The U.S. economic calendar is quieter in the week ahead, with the main focus being on manufacturing and service sector PMI data on Friday.
This could give early indications on how companies are reacting to the threat of Trump's proposed trade tariffs - a data point that will be closely watched by markets from here on.
Investors will also get the chance to hear from several Federal Reserve officials, including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, Kansas Fed President Jeffrey Schmid and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack.
Crude gains on Ukraine/Russia fears
Crude prices rose Monday after fighting between Russia and Ukraine intensified over the weekend, but gains will be limited by continued concerns of a supply glut next year.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) gained 1.8% to $68.13 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 1.8% to $72.31 a barrel.
President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, according to reports Sunday, in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces.
There has been little impact on Russian oil exports from the war so far, but if Ukraine were to target more oil infrastructure that could see oil markets add more of a geopolitical bid.
The benchmark contracts slid more than 3% last week on weak data from China and after the International Energy Agency forecast global oil supply will easily exceed demand in 2025 even if cuts remain in place from a group of top producers.