U.S. equity futures climbed early Monday as Wall Street built on strong gains from the previous week, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average toward unprecedented levels. Market sentiment remained upbeat, with traders looking ahead to upcoming economic data releases and Federal Reserve meeting minutes for direction.
At 4:13 p.m. (Bangkok Time), S&P 500 futures gained 0.44% while contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 added 1.04%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up 0.1%.
The upbeat momentum followed a week in which the Dow advanced nearly 2%, approaching the 53,000 mark for the first time. Other major indices also delivered robust performances, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notching weekly gains of 1.76% and 2.12%, respectively.
Notably, last week’s market rally persisted despite a pullback in semiconductor stocks. Investors trimmed holdings in chipmakers, prompting the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) to drop 3.2%—its second consecutive weekly decline—as capital rotated into other industry groups.
Artificial intelligence continued to be a focal point for investors, with analysts at JPMorgan recently revising their year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800. Concerns over market concentration have emerged, as the ten largest AI-driven companies now comprise 41% of the S&P 500’s weighting, a proportion reminiscent of tech dominance during the dot-com bubble era.
Market participants are now awaiting a busy slate of U.S. economic indicators in the aftermath of June’s softer-than-expected employment report. Key service sector activity readings from S&P Global and the Institute of Supply Management are set for release Monday, offering fresh insight into the health of the U.S. services economy.
Additionally, investor attention this week will turn to the Federal Reserve minutes from its June meeting—its first under new Chairman Kevin Warsh—on Wednesday, providing potential clues regarding future monetary policy moves.
