US stock futures climbed early Monday as investors headed into one of the heaviest weeks of the quarter, with Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures each up 0.80% and Nasdaq-100 futures gaining 1.40%. Sentiment appeared to draw support from geopolitics, as the US and Iran paused fighting in a development that could allow peace negotiations to resume, sending Brent crude down 4% to below $86 a barrel and the VIX volatility gauge 4.52% lower.
The earnings calendar is dense. Drugmaker AstraZeneca NYSE:AZN and steelmaker Nucor NYSE:NUE open the week, before Big Tech heavyweights Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT, Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META, Apple NASDAQ:AAPL and Amazon NASDAQ:AMZN report alongside consumer names Coca-Cola NYSE:KO, Starbucks NASDAQ:SBUX and Procter & Gamble NYSE:PG and chip designer Arm Holdings NASDAQ:ARM. Oil majors ExxonMobil NYSE:XOM and Chevron NYSE:CVX conclude the slate, putting results from across technology, consumer and energy sectors in front of investors within days of each other.
Looming over all of it is the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Wednesday, described as one of the least-telegraphed Fed decisions in years. Policymakers are expected to maintain current rates while monitoring inflation progress, though a hike remains possible a combination that suggests this week's earnings and policy signals together could set the market's direction into August.