Top 5 Things To Know In The Market On Monday: Trump, Iran, Google

Top 5 things to know today in financial markets

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, July 23:

1. Trump Warns Iran To Never Threaten U.S.

Concerns surrounding geopolitics returned to the forefront after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a late Sunday evening post on Twitter to “never ever threaten” the U.S. again or else “suffer consequences”.

The tweet came hours after Rouhani told Trump that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to "the mother of all wars."

The Trump administration has been harshly critical of Iran, pulling out of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the West, and is set to reimpose sanctions starting in November.

Trump has also threatened to halt Iranian oil exports, which could cripple Iran’s economy.

2. Escalating U.S.-Iran Rhetoric Boosts Oil

Oil prices got a boost from the escalation in rhetoric between Washington and Tehran.

The global oil benchmark, September Brent crude, was up 65 cents, or around 0.9%, to $73.75. U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI futures tacked on 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $68.64 a barrel.

Iran is a major Middle East oil producer and member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Any disruption to supplies from Tehran could raise the potential for tighter global crude stockpiles.

3. Alphabet Kick Off Busy Week Of Earnings

There are about 170 S&P 500 companies and 11 Dow members reporting earnings in what will be the busiest week of the second-quarter earnings season.

Most of the focus will be on the FANG group of stocks.

After the bell on Monday, Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is expected by analysts on average to report earnings per share EPS of $9.66 on revenue of $25.58 billion.

Some of other high-profile tech names reporting this week are Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM).

Among non-tech names, Boeing (NYSE:BA), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), 3M (NYSE:MMM), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), UPS (NYSE:UPS), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Ford (NYSE:F), and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) are also on the docket for this week.

So far, 87 S&P 500 companies have released their latest quarterly results, of which 83% have beat consensus estimates, according to FactSet.

4. U.S. Stock Futures Point To Lower Open

U.S. stock futures looked set to kick off the week on a downbeat note, with the major indices on track to open with modest losses, as investors focused on the latest batch of corporate earnings.

At 5:30AM ET, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a loss of 20 points, or about 0.3%, at the open. The blue-chip Dow futures and S&P 500 futures also indicated a slightly lower start to their respective trading sessions.

Elsewhere, in Europe, most of the region's major bourses traded lower, with almost every sector trading in red. Auto stocks were the worst performers, as trade concerns weighed on sentiment.

Earlier, Asian stocks closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei faring the worst, pressured by strength in the yen.

5. Trump's Fed Comments Hold Down Dollar

Away from equities, the U.S. dollar struggled against its major peers, as investors continued to digest President Trump's comments on the greenback's strength.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 94.31. It slid to its lowest since July 11 at 93.98 in overnight trade.

Elsewhere, in the bond market, U.S. Treasury prices edged higher, pushing yields lower across the curve, with the benchmark 10-year yield dipping to around 2.88%, while the Fed-sensitive 2-year note was near 2.59%.

Sentiment remained fragile after Trump launched a rare attack on the Federal Reserve late last week, claiming that their plans to raise interest rates risked undermining his efforts at strengthening the economy.

He also lamented the strength of the greenback in posts on Twitter and accused China and the European Union of currency and interest-rate manipulation that he claims has put the U.S. at a disadvantage.

On the data front, Monday's economic calendar brings investors the June report on existing home sales at 10:00AM ET.

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