Futures for the S&P 500 ticked up less than 0.1%, a day after the benchmark index ground higher to a record. Contracts for the technology-focused Nasdaq-100 rose 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat.
A strong start to earnings season among U.S. companies and indications that the economy is rebounding have helped to lift stocks to a series of all-time highs. Still, some investors are cautious, pointing to risks stemming from elevated valuations, the potential for a jump in inflation and the raging epidemic in India.
“We’ve got a big week of tech earnings where valuations are probably a bit more stretched than in other areas,” said Stuart Rumble, investment director at Fidelity International.
Tech stocks have climbed in recent weeks, pushing the Nasdaq Composite Index to a record high on Monday for the first time since February. Mr. Rumble said he favors shares of banks and energy companies, economically-sensitive sectors that stand to benefit when coronavirus restrictions lift.
Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet are due to report earnings Tuesday after the market closes. Of the 132 companies in the S&P 500 that had published results through Monday, 87% had beaten analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet.
United Parcel Service shares jumped over 8% ahead of the opening bell after the delivery company topped forecasts for profit and revenue. Lyft, which said Monday it was selling its self-driving division to a unit of Toyota Motor, rose 2.8%.
General Electric slipped about 2% after the company’s jet-engine business and divestitures weighed on its quarterly results. Profits shrank at Eli Lilly, pushing shares down 3.6%.
Shares of Tesla slipped more than 2% premarket. The electric-vehicle maker late Monday posted a record profit in the first quarter. Tesla faces challenges on other fronts including an investigation into the crash of a Model S sedan earlier this month in Texas.
Some investors say stocks face a bumpy ride in the coming months, pointing to signs of excess in cryptocurrencies and other corners of financial markets.
“It may make sense to take a couple of chips off the table,” said Daniel Egger, chief investment officer at St. Gotthard Fund Management. Surveys showing that individual investors are extremely bullish suggest stocks are vulnerable to a pullback, according to Mr. Egger.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose to 1.583%, from 1.568% Monday. Yields, which move inversely to bond prices, are on course to advance for a third-consecutive session.
Officials on the Fed’s rate-setting committee are due to gather for the start of their regular policy meeting, which will conclude Wednesday. Monica Defend, global head of research at Amundi, said she doesn’t expect the central bank to adjust monetary policy.
The New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
Photo: shannon stapleton/Reuters
Ms. Defend said the French asset manager is focused on earnings in the U.S. and Europe. “We really need the real economy to back up the equity market,” she said.
In overseas markets, losses for financial-service, auto and basic-resource stocks weighed on the Stoxx Europe 600, which ticked down 0.2%.
Among individual European companies, shares of UBS Group fell almost 3%. The Swiss lender said it had lost $774 million from the implosion last month of Archegos Capital Management, a bigger hit than analysts expected.
BP shares gained 1.7% after the oil-and-gas producer said higher commodity prices boosted earnings in the first quarter. BP also said it is launching a $500 million share buyback.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the session down 0.5% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed up less than 0.1%.
Write to Joe Wallace at Joe.Wallace@wsj.com
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