US stock futures fell on Monday, signaling March’s market struggles are set to continue in a week highlighted by the Federal Reserve policy meeting.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) dropped 0.6%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.5%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slid about 0.7%.
The gauges are coming off a week that saw the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) enter into correction territory and the Dow book its worst weekly performance since March 2023. Markets have been buffetted by economic concerns and continuing uncertainty over President Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy.
Stocks continued to struggle after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC that he’s not worried about the recent sell-off and said, “Corrections are healthy”. Bessent’s comments dented Wall Street’s hopes that he would push for the Trump administration to adjust tariff policy to support markets.
As of 7:15:08 AM EDT. Market Open.
ES=F YM=F NQ=F
Wall Street will be focused on the Federal Reserve in the coming week, looking to its decision on interest rates and Chair Jerome Powell’s thoughts on the path forward — and on the general health of the US economy. The expectation is that the Fed will hold rates steady, so investors will closely watch the Fed’s latest “dot plot,” which maps out policymakers’ expectations for the rate path going forward.
Meanwhile, February retail sales are set for release on Monday, giving a state of play for the American consumer. Economists expect a bounce back from January’s 0.9% drop, looking for a 0.6% rise. The pulse check comes after the University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment survey showed a souring of consumer faith in Trump’s economy.
Quarterly earnings results are due this week from Nike (NKE), Getty (GETY), FedEx (FDX) and General Mills (GIS), among others.
In an event that could herald change for the beleaguered AI sector, Monday brings Nvidia’s (NVDA) annual GTC conference, which has the potential to reveal stock-shifting developments in new tech.
LIVE 2 updates
