US stock futures steady as markets digest Trump attack

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures steadied in evening deals on Sunday amid speculation over whether an attack on presidential candidate Donald Trump improved his chances of victory. 

Uncertainty over the U.S. political situation kept risk appetite largely in check. Investors were also awaiting a swathe of key corporate earnings in the coming days, as the second quarter earnings season began in earnest. 

S&P 500 Futures rose slightly to 5,688.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures edged higher to 20,534.0 points by 19:12 ET (23:12 GMT). Dow Jones Futures rose 40,347.0 points. 

2024 Republican convention in focus after Trump attack 

Trump was targeted in an attempted assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The assailant shot at Trump multiple times, hitting him in the ear. Trump was seen urging the audience to “Fight!” 

Initial responses to the attack were that it was likely to improve Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential race. Trump is now set to speak at the 2024 Republican convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to be officially nominated as the party’s frontrunner for the presidential race. 

The conference, which begins later this week, is set to be Trump's first public appearance after the shooting.

Still, political uncertainty in the aftermath of the attack is expected to weigh on risk-driven assets. 

Wall Street at record highs amid rate cut optimism 

Wall Street indexes rose to near record highs on Friday, as slightly stronger than expected producer price index inflation data did little to deter bets on interest rate cuts. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average did mark a record high finish of 40,000.90 points on Friday, outpacing its peers as the prospect of lower rates saw traders pivot into more economically sensitive stocks. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,615.35 points and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.6% to 18,396.98 points, with both indexes remaining in sight of recent peaks. 

Friday’s PPI data was also accompanied by softer inflation expectations and consumer sentiment data, which ramped up hopes that inflation will cool in the coming months and give the Federal Reserve enough confidence to begin trimming rates. 

Traders were seen pricing in a 90.3% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in September, up from a 72.2% chance seen last week, according to CME Fedwatch.

Rate cuts also helped markets look past somewhat mixed second quarter earnings from major Wall Street banks. 

Q2 earnings set to pick up with more banks on tap 

The second quarter earnings season is set to pick up this week with heavyweights Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) set to report on Monday, followed by Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on Tuesday. 

Chipmaking major ASML Holding NV (AS:ASML) is set to report on Wednesday, while tech giant Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) will report on Thursday.