Stock Futures Point Lower on Geopolitical Developments Ahead of Big Tech Earnings Week, Fed Decision; Gold Tops $5,000 for First Time

Stock futures were poised for a lower open Monday to begin a busy week of tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, while gold futures surpassed $5,000 an ounce for the first time.

Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed down 0.4%, 0.2%, and less than 0.1%, respectively. The three major equities indexes posted their second straight losing week following a mixed session Friday.

Markets seem to be impacted by President Donald Trump’s threatened 100% tariff on imports from Canada if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reached a trade deal with China, as well as a possible U.S. government shutdown after Senate Democrats said they wouldn’t pass a funding package without changes to Department of Homeland Security provisions following the deadly shooting of a protestor in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Safe-haven gold futures crossed the $5,000-an-ounce threshold for the first time on the geopolitical tensions, and recently were trading up more than 2% at about $5,085 an ounce after touching above $5,100 an ounce. Silver futures hit a new record high of above $110 an ounce, and recently were up more than 7% at around $108.75 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, was 0.5% lower at 97.11. The greenback slid further against the yen after Japanese and U.S. officials signaled they were prepared to intervene to stop a slide in the Asian currency.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury—which impacts interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages—fell to 4.20% from Friday’s close around 4.23%. Bitcoin was trading at roughly $87,900, up from overnight lows around $86,000.  West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, ticked higher to $61.15 a barrel. 

In corporate news, shares of U.S. airlines, including Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Southwest Airlines (LUV), pointed modestly lower after a massive storm across much of the country forced the carriers to cancel more than 20,000 flights over the weekend and Monday.

Intel (INTC) shares were down roughly 1.5% in premarket trading after plummeting 17% to pace S&P 500 and Nasdaq decliners Friday after the chipmaker issued a soft outlook and executives warned that supplies could hit a low in the current quarter.

USA Rare Earth (USAR) stock soared 35% before the bell after reports that the Trump administration was prepared to take a 10% stake in the company.