U.S. stock futures edged higher Sunday night as investors watched trade news and looked ahead to a busy week of big tech earnings. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were up 0.15%, 0.14%, and 0.13%, respectively, at 8:32 p.m. EDT on July 20.
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Trade was back in the spotlight as the White House repeated its stance on tariffs. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that August 1 is the “hard deadline” for countries to begin paying tariffs, but added that talks could still happen after that date.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 inched down from Thursday’s record highs, though still closing the week up 0.59% and 1.25%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week nearly flat at –0.07%.
The gains follow a strong start to the earnings season. So far, 59 S&P 500 companies have reported, and more than 86% have beaten forecasts, according to FactSet.
Looking ahead, the major indexes could get another lift if Alphabet (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA), the first of the “Magnificent Seven” to report, post better-than-expected results this week. Analysts see these big tech names as key drivers of second-quarter earnings growth.