Market Snapshot: Dow futures edge lower after stocks end at records

What’s driving the market?

Stocks were lifted last week as earnings season got under way with solid results from big banks and as investors digested strong economic data.

Read: Stocks are at all-time highs and the U.S. economy is booming. So why is everyone so freaked out?

While stocks may be set to pause their advance Monday, analysts said the tone remained positive amid a lack of any major negative catalysts.

“Overall, it looks like clear skies for equity markets. Policy makers are still holding investors by the hand and vaccination programs have accelerated dramatically,” said Marios Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM, in a note.

Half of all adults in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday, as the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign hit another milestone.

“The only real risks on the radar are excess inflation that leads the Fed to shift gears abruptly, some new vaccine-resistant variant, or the geopolitical temperature rising further in critical theaters like Ukraine or Taiwan,” Hadjikyriacos said.

Investors continue to watch the debate around President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, including his call to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Axios reported Sunday that resistance among Senate Democrats was likely to limit a rise in the tax rate to 25%, which would raise $600 billion over 15 years and come in well short of offsetting the price tag of the eight-year $2.25 trillion package.

Investors are gearing up for a busy week of earnings, with 81 S&P 500 companies, including 10 components of the Dow, set to deliver results.

Which companies are in focus

• Dow component Coca-Cola Co.
  KO,
  +0.66%
  reported earnings and revenues Monday that topped Wall Street forecasts. Shares were up 0.8% in premarket trade.

• Shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc.
  TSLA,
  +0.13%
  were down 1.8%. Two men died after a Tesla vehicle that authorities said was believed to be operating without anyone in the driver’s seat crashed into a tree Saturday night north of Houston.

• Harley-Davidson Inc.
  HOG,
  -0.15%
  shares surged more than 8% in premarket action after the motorcycle maker roared past first-quarter earnings forecasts. Separately, the company said it had received notification it would be subject to a 56% tariff on European Union imports. Harley-Davidson said it would launch an immediate legal challenge.

• Herman Miller Inc. 
  MLHR,
  +1.21%
  and Knoll Inc. 
  KNL,
  +1.77%
  announced an agreement Monday to combine in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.8 billion that will create a leader in modern design for the home and office. Knoll shareholders would receive $11 in cash and 0.32 shares of Herman Miller for each share owned, equal to a premium of 45% over Knoll’s closing price on Friday. Herman Miller shares fell more than 12% in premarket action, while Knoll shares jumped more than 28%.

• Peloton Interactive Inc.
  PTON,
  -3.08%
  said Monday that a recent warning to consumers from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to stop using its Tread+ product was “inaccurate and misleading.” The CPSC said over the weekend issued an “urgent warning” about the Tread+ machines after multiple reports of small children and pets being injured beneath the machines, including one death. Peloton shares were down 6.8% in premarket trade.