Editor’s note: The ETFs data was updated and economic data was added
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Monday, as the Dow Jones index slipped and the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures rose, following Friday’s lower close.
On the macroeconomic front, manufacturing activity in New York State expanded sharply in August, with the Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s general business conditions index rising five points to 20.6—its highest reading in over four years. While solid growth in new orders and shipments boosted sentiment, underlying pressure persisted as input costs rose and supply availability continued to worsen.
Wall Street faces a pivotal retail earnings week to gauge consumer health, featuring Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) on Tuesday, Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) and TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE:TJX) on Wednesday, and Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) on Thursday. Macro-wise, in-line inflation numbers pulled September Fed rate hike expectations down, with investors also awaiting Wednesday’s July FOMC minutes.
President Donald Trump commended a recently established “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, describing it as a “BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP” toward self-defense for these nations.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.68%, and the two-year bond was at 4.15%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing a 30.6% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking the current interest rates during its September meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.17% |
| S&P 500 | 0.14% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.50% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.11% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Monday. The SPY was up 0.068% at $776.87, while the QQQ advanced by 0.34% to $733.55.
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Stocks In Focus
HIVE Digital Technologies
- HIVE Digital Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE ) shares rose by 8.92% despite reporting downbeat results for the first quarter. The company posted quarterly losses of 54 cents per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 20 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $79.120 million, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $81.123 million.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that HIVE maintains a weak price trend in the long, short, and medium terms.
Rocket Lab
- Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ: RKLB ) was 1.20% higher after it successfully launched eight satellite platforms built for MDA Space to replenish Globalstar’s existing communications constellation.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that RKLB maintains a weak price trend in the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term.
Micron Technology and SanDisk
- Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU ) jumped 3.57%, and SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK ) rose by 5.72% amid a strong sector-wide rebound driven by insatiable AI infrastructure demand and tightening memory and flash supply constraints.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MU maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a solid growth score.
XP
- XP Inc. (NASDAQ: XP ) was up 0.51% as it is supposed to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts expect earnings of 51 cents per share on revenue of $976.54 million.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that XP maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a good value score.
Fabrinet
- Fabrinet (NYSE: FN ) rose 2.31% as analysts expect it to report earnings of $3.82 per share on revenue of $1.27 billion after the closing bell.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that FN maintains a strong price trend in the long and short terms but a weak trend in the medium term, with a good quality score.
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Cues From Last Session
Energy, utilities, and materials led the gains on Friday, while health care and IT lagged, amidst a lower settlement for U.S. stocks with the Dow Jones dropping over 100 points.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | -0.20% | 53,732.41 |
| S&P 500 | -0.17% | 7,785.76 |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.28% | 26,729.16 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.51% | 3,068.42 |
Insights From Analysts
Mohamed El-Erian views the U.S. stock market and economy as trapped in an “unstable equilibrium,” driven by a “divergence in a structurally changing world that, for now, lacks important secular anchors.”
While Wall Street equities continue to find reason for exuberance in robust corporate earnings, El-Erian notes that this optimism clashes directly with Main Street reality and the fixed-income market.
Persistent inflation concerns, softening consumer sentiment, and historically elevated government bond yields create a stark macroeconomic dissonance.
He highlights that asset classes are temporarily inhabiting “different realities,” as equity market strength contrasts with weakening economic indicators like declining retail sales.
Rather than expecting near-term data to bring clarity, El-Erian warns that the system is undergoing fundamental transformations. He stresses that the traditional “training wheels of central bank forward guidance are gradually removed,” forcing investors to navigate structural volatility.
Ultimately, he advises that surviving this fragmented market landscape requires a dedicated strategy, emphasizing that “navigating this environment requires the protective trifecta of resilience, agility, and optionality.”
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on this week.
- Empire State Manufacturing Survey: New York State manufacturing activity reached a four-year high in August as the headline business conditions index jumped five points to 20.6. New orders (17.3) and shipments (11.7) maintained strong momentum, though supply availability declined further (-13.4) and input price growth accelerated to 58.6.
- August’s NAHB housing market index data at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Tuesday, July’s housing starts and import prices data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- July’s industrial production and capacity utilization data will be out by 9:15 a.m., and July’s pending home sales index data will be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Wednesday, minutes of the Fed’s August FOMC meeting will be published at 2:00 p.m. ET.
- On Thursday, August’s Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey and weekly jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 15 will both be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- July’s leading indicators data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Friday, August’s S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI and flash U.S. services PMI data will be released by 9:45 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude Oil WTI futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.15% to hover around $81.59 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.38% to hover around $4,393.36 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.20% lower at the 99.7610 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.50% higher at $63,301.15 per coin over the last 24 hours.
Asian markets were mixed on Monday, as Australia’s ASX 200 and India’s Nifty 50 indices fell. Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s CSI 300, South Korea’s Kospi, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices rose. European markets were lower in early trading.
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