U.S. stock futures rose on Monday, with the Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100, and S&P 500 all pointing higher after a mixed close on Friday. The catalyst? A late-Sunday announcement from the Donald Trump administration that both the U.S. and Iran will "stand down for now," allowing commercial vessels to once again move freely through the critical Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor. Technical talks on the initial peace memorandum remain "on track," with a high-level diplomatic summit scheduled for Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.

This week is a truncated one, but it's packed with corporate earnings and economic data. On the earnings front, notable reports are due from Nike Inc. (NKE), Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ), and General Mills Inc. (GIS). Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.38%, and the two-year bond was at 4.10%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing a 70.6% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its July meeting.

Here's how the major index futures were performing early Monday:

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket trading. SPY was up 0.95% at $735.90, while QQQ advanced 1.13% to $714.36.

Stocks In Focus

Viridian Therapeutics

• Viridian Therapeutics Inc. (VRDN) jumped 11.45% in premarket after announcing U.S. FDA approval and the launch of Lumvoa for the treatment of thyroid eye disease.
• Market data indicates that VRDN maintains a strong price trend in the short term but a weak trend in the long and medium terms.

Qualcomm

• Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) was up 2.65% following last week's announcements: a deal to purchase AI software company Modular for about $3.9 billion, and a raised long-term outlook at its 2026 Investor Day, projecting $40 billion in non-handset revenue by fiscal 2029.
• Market data indicates that QCOM maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid quality score.

Universe Pharmaceuticals

• Universe Pharmaceuticals Inc. (UPC) surged 222.97% after disclosing it will acquire Best Praise International for $10.75 million.
• Market data indicates that UPC maintains a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.

HP

• HP Inc. (HPQ) was 0.31% higher after announcing on Sunday a strategic partnership with OpenAI to integrate the Frontier platform across its business operations and customer-facing services.
• Market data indicates that HPQ maintains a strong price trend in the medium term but a weak trend in the short and long terms, with a poor growth score.

Verizon Communications

• Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) was 0.30% lower after agreeing to combine its international operations in a 50:50 joint venture with BT Group, creating a new company focused on multinational connectivity.
• Market data indicates that VZ maintains a strong price trend in the long term but a weak trend in the short and medium terms, with a moderate value score.

Cues From Last Session

On Friday, health care, consumer discretionary, and real estate stocks led gains as most S&P 500 sectors closed higher, though industrials and tech bucked the trend to finish lower. Overall, U.S. stocks settled down, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 50 points to mark its fifth consecutive losing session.

Insights From Analysts

Economist Mohamed El-Erian maintains a constructive yet nuanced outlook for the U.S. financial landscape, highlighting a distinct decoupling between economic fundamentals and recent market volatility. On the economic front, he views the U.S. as notably sturdy, pointing out that a "resilient US economy is now offering some tangible relief to lower-income consumers." While the inflation debate persists on Wall Street, El-Erian remains in the camp that expects no further Federal Reserve rate hikes, believing that upcoming data "will prove to be peak inflation for this cycle."

Conversely, El-Erian attributes recent downward pressure on Wall Street primarily to market technicals rather than a systemic downturn. He emphasizes that the economy's structural pillars remain intact, noting that "underlying corporate earnings power and AI productivity tailwinds remain robust." Instead of fundamental decay, the tech-heavy market dip has been driven by crowded positioning and quarter-end rebalancing, which effectively "divorce price action from underlying economic reality." Looking ahead, El-Erian expects the narrative to pivot back toward the production side of the American economy, with upcoming labor and ISM manufacturing data serving as the next crucial litmus tests for growth.

Upcoming Economic Data

Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this week:

• Monday: No economic events scheduled.
• Tuesday: April's S&P Case-Shiller home price index (9:00 a.m. ET), June's Chicago business barometer (9:45 a.m. ET), June's Conference Board consumer confidence index, and May's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) (both at 10:00 a.m. ET).
• Wednesday: June's ADP national employment report (8:15 a.m. ET), June's S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI (9:45 a.m. ET), June's ISM manufacturing PMI, and May's construction spending (both at 10:00 a.m. ET).
• Thursday: Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 27, June's nonfarm payrolls, June's unemployment rate, and June's average hourly earnings (all at 8:30 a.m. ET), plus May's factory orders (10:00 a.m. ET).
• Friday: No economic events scheduled.

Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets

Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session, up 1.31% to around $70.14 per barrel. Gold spot fell 0.82% to hover around $4,055.69 per ounce, while the U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.24% higher at 101.6490.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 0.92% lower at $59,801.17 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets closed mixed on Monday: India's Nifty 50 and South Korea's Kospi fell, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200, Japan's Nikkei 225, and China's CSI 300 rose. European markets were also mixed in early trade.