US equity futures showed modest gains before the market opening on Monday, as traders anticipated the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision and important economic indicators set to be released later in the week. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw an increase of 0.2%, while the S&P 500 futures climbed by 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.5%. Key economic data scheduled for release this week includes the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday, alongside figures regarding retail sales, jobless claims, housing starts, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index — the Federal Reserve's favored gauge of US inflation. In the oil market, prices experienced a decline, with the global benchmark North Sea Brent crude falling by 0.7% to $73.98 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude dropping 1.4% to $70.31 per barrel. The Empire State Manufacturing Index, released at 8:30 am ET, saw a significant decrease to 0.2 in December from the previous 31.2 in November, which was steeper than Bloomberg's estimates predicting a smaller drop to 10.0. The services purchasing managers' index, scheduled for release at 9:45 am ET, is projected to show a value of 55.7 in the December flash reading, up from 54.9 in November. Looking at global markets, Japan's Nikkei closed slightly down by 0.03%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.9%, and China's Shanghai Composite decreased by 0.2%.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index experienced a 0.4% drop, while Germany's DAX index also fell by 0.4% during the early afternoon session in Europe. In the equities market, Honeywell International shares ($HON) rose by 2.4% before the market opened following the announcement that the company is contemplating a potential spin-off of its aerospace division.
Shares of Edgewise Therapeutics ($EWTX) surged by 22% after the announcement that its phase 2 trial for a treatment candidate addressing Becker muscular dystrophy achieved its primary objective. Conversely, shares of Microchip Technology ($MCHP) fell 3% after Bank of America downgraded its rating on the stock to underperform..