4:16 pm: Relatively little movement Monday
The Dow closed Monday down 140 points, 0.4%, at 33,267, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 63 points, 0.5%, to 12,721 and the S&P 500 less than 1 point to end at 4,193. The small-cap Russell 2000 index improved 21 points, 1.2%, to 1,795.
The market didn't move much in either direction, as the biggest news of the day could yet come from the 5:30 pm ET meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy regarding the debt ceiling.
“Investors are starting to get concerned about what’s happening with the debt ceiling talks, but on the other hand, the economy still is pretty strong, the job market’s really strong,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that June 1 is the earliest possible date that the US could potentially default on its debt.
12:12 pm: Indexes mixed at noon
Shortly after midday, the Dow was down 72 points, 0.2%, to 33,355, while the Nasdaq Composite added 55 points, 0.4%, to 12,713 and the S&P 500 improved 6 points, 0.1%, to 4,198.
The market isn't quite sure which way to go as investors await cautiously await news on the debt ceiling and inflation.
"It hasn't been the most thrilling start to the week but that is highly unlikely to continue, with debt ceiling talks, inflation releases, PMIs and Fed minutes all to come," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"Today we'll have to settle for comments from some Fed policymakers and while James Bullard's claim that we should see two more hikes this year may have done more than the morning coffee to wake some people up this Monday morning in the US, the reality is we can take those comments with a relative pinch of salt at this point," he added.
9:40 am: Investors waiting for debt ceiling updates
The main US stock indexes opened little moved and bond yields ticked higher as nervous investors waited for news on highly fraught debt-ceiling negotiations.
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are due to meet later in the day in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal to avoid a default.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up 0.11% at market open, while the S&P 500 rose 0.21% and the tech-dominated Nasdaq climbed 0.49% to 12,716 points.
7:50 am: Dow Jones, Nasdaq seen flat to lower
US stock indexes are expected to start flat to modestly lower on Monday as talks over the US debt ceiling enter a critical stage and interest rate worries remain.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to meet Monday to continue negotiations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the US could default on its debt as early as June 1.
Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs think the US Treasury Department is expected to run out of the cash necessary to fund the federal government’s obligations by June 8 or 9 unless the debt ceiling is lifted.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were 0.03% higher, while those for the S&P 500 slipped 0.01%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.1%.
Wall Street ended lower on Friday, with the DJIA off 0.3%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. But over the week, despite the uncertainty in Washington, the DJIA added 0.4%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 3%.
Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets commented: "With the US debt ceiling clock ticking ever louder, futures are eyeing a cautious start to the week on Wall Street with some modest downside pressures in play.
"On the basis that economic news is thin on the ground in the coming days whilst earnings season is drawing to a close too, any meaningful progress on the US political front will be very much in focus, with Janet Yellen having cautioned that the US could default on debt repayments as soon as the middle of next week.
"As for the economic calendar, Tuesday’s flash PMI readings appear to offer little cause for concern, although the release on Wednesday of the FOMC meeting minutes will inevitably be closely followed as the market looks for clues as to what the Fed is thinking may happen next."
The first-quarter corporate earnings season is also winding down, but there are a few notable reports in the coming days, with Zoom Video on Monday and Lowe’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday. Traders will also be keeping an eye on JPMorgan Chase’s investor day on Monday.