US pre-open: Stocks seen muted as bond yields rise; tech sector in focus

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Monday as Treasury yields continue to rise, with earnings on tap from the likes of Halliburton and Hasbro.

At 1145 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures were flat.

Meanwhile, US bond yields resumed their push higher amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates, with the yield on the 10-year note trading just under 3% after hitting its highest level since January 2014 on Friday. Markets are now pricing in four interest rate hikes this year versus the three signalled by policymakers.

Konstantinos Anthis, head of research at ADS Securities, said strong earnings results should underpin stocks in the short-term but as yields continue their rally higher traders "should not drop their guard".

"Even a small deterioration in sentiment could trigger a sell-off for global equities as yields threaten the upside potential," he said.

On the geopolitical front, North Korea vowed over the weekend to put an end to its nuclear and missile tests. Kim Jong-Un said no further tests were needed as the North had demonstrated that it had nuclear weapons.

Kim, who is due to meet next week with South Korean president Moon Jae-In for the first inter-Korean summit in more than 10 years, said on Saturday: "From 21 April, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles."

The technology sector will be in focus this week as earnings are due from Google parent Alphabet, Twitter and Facebook, which was recently hit by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Facebook is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.36 a share on Wednesday and revenue of $11.41bn.

London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "Even if it produces blow out numbers, it will be hard for Facebook to escape the cloud of uncertainty in the short-term."

Later on Monday, earnings are due from Kimberly Clark as well as Hasbro and Halliburton ahead of the open, while Alphabet and Whirlpool will report after the close.

On the data front, the Chicago Fed national activity index is at 1330 BST, Markit's manufacturing and services PMIs are at 1445 BST and existing home sales are at 1500 BST.