MW: U.S. stocks: Futures lower as bull market marks sixth anniversary
MADRID (MarketWatch)—Wall Street looked in no mood to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the bull market on Monday as stock futures fell on the heels of a sharp spiral south late last week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH5, -0.18% eased 17 points to 17,831, while those for the S&P 500 index SPH5, -0.16% dipped 3 points to 2,067.80. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index NDH5, -0.10% fell 4.5 points to 4,400.50.
The S&P 500 SPX, -1.42% suffered its steepest fall in two months on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report triggered a rally for the U.S. dollar, pushed up 10-year U.S. Treasury yields and resurfaced speculation that the Federal Reserve could hike rates sooner rather than later. The index fell 1.4% to 2,071.26, losing over 1.6% for the week.
Monday marks the day six years ago — March 9, 2009 — the S&P 500 bottomed out during the financial crisis, closing at 676.53. The index has rallied more than 200% since then, and concerns remain that the market could be moving toward another bubble.
See: Why the bull market is ready to celebrate its seventh birthday
“The good news is that the stock market’s reaction to Friday’s employment news reduces the risk of a melt-up in stocks,” said Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, said in a note on Monday.
“The market needs some time to let earnings catch up with stretched valuations. It also needs some time to get used to monetary normalization, which is now even more likely to start at the June 16-17 meeting of the FOMC,” he wrote.
The dollar continued to gain against the euro EURUSD, +0.35% on Monday, as concerns over a Greece default resurfaced ahead of a key meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.
Euro hovers at 12-year lows as Greek worries heat up again
The data calendar is empty outside of a labor market conditions index at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. But several Federal Reserve officials will speak throughout Monday.
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota will speak to bankers in his district on “goal-based monetary policy” at 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester will speak on economic outlook and monetary policy before the National Association for Business Economics meeting in Washington at 2:25 p.m. Eastern.
Finally, retiring Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher will give a speech at Rice University reflecting on 10 years at the Fed at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
