Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq Futures Decline Following A Week of Steep Declines

Following Wall Street’s most recent week of significant losses, US stock futures plummeted Sunday night as it appeared that March’s difficulties might continue. While Dow Jones Average futures (YM=F) declined by about 0.4%, S&P 500 futures (ES=F) plummeted by 0.5%. Futures on the Nasdaq (NQ=F) fell 0.7%.

Markets are coming off a week in which the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost 10% of its peak on February 19 and entered correction territory. Dow’s significant indexes had more than 2% weekly losses, the worst since March 2023. Concerns about the economy and the ongoing uncertainty around President Trump’s erratic tariff strategy have shaken investors.

In the upcoming week, Wall Street will be watching the Federal Reserve closely, anticipating its interest rate decision, Chair Jerome Powell’s outlook on the future, and the overall state of the US economy. Investors will pay special attention to the Fed’s most recent “dot plot,” which plots officials’ forecasts for the future rate path because it is expected that the Fed will keep rates unchanged.

A state of play for the American consumer is provided by the February retail sales, which are scheduled to be released on Monday. After a 0.9% decline in January, economists anticipate a 0.6% increase. The pulse check follows a recent consumer mood study from the University of Michigan that revealed decreased consumer confidence in Trump’s economy.

This week, several companies, including Nike (NKE), Getty (GETY), FedEx (FDX), and General Mills (GIS), are expected to release their quarterly financial reports. Nvidia’s annual GTC conference on Monday might be a turning point for the struggling AI industry as it could unveil game-changing innovations in new technology.