US pre-open: Stocks seen muted as investors pause after record highs

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Monday, with investors likely to take a step back after indices notched record all-time high closes on Friday following the release of a decent non-farm payrolls report.

At 1215 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1% and flat, respectively.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: “The jobs data wrapped up a very busy week for financial markets that included a Federal Reserve meeting, new Fed Chair announcement, tax reform and a large batch of earnings reports. With the week ahead looking much quieter, investors will be left to reflect on the events of the last week and determine what it means for markets over the coming months, with a rate hike in December still the base case scenario in most people’s view.

“The third quarter earnings season has given investors plenty of reason for optimism and with the global economy as a whole looking more healthy than it has in years, there’s little reason to be pessimistic right now. Of course there is still plenty of risks bubbling away underneath the surface which is likely to leave markets vulnerable at times, but investors seem more than willing to shrug this off for now.”

The biggest focus for market participants this week is likely to be President Trump’s Asia visit, which kicked off at the weekend, along with a number of appearances from Federal Reserve officials.

On the corporate front, shares in CVS Health were set to be active after it posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue and earnings.

Michael Kors was also likely to be in the spotlight after it reported a 26% jump in second-quarter profit, while Cardinal Health said profit in the first quarter fell 13%.

Elsewhere, Sprint was down in pre-market trade after it said over the weekend that its merger talks with T-Mobile US had ended.

But Qualcomm rose in pre-market trade following a report that Broadcom is planning an unsolicited takeover of the chip maker.

There are no major US data releases due, but New York Fed President William Dudley is due to make a speech later at the Economic Club of New York.