New York — U.S. stock futures experienced an uptick on Sunday evening as investors braced for a week packed with significant financial events. The upcoming days are set to deliver crucial earnings reports from major technology companies, a pivotal Federal Reserve meeting, the looming tariff deadline set by President Trump, and key inflation data.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 180 points, translating to a 0.4% rise. Similarly, S&P 500 futures edged up by 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures experienced a 0.4% increase. This positive trend in futures comes on the heels of Trump’s announcement regarding a new agreement with the European Union to lower tariffs to 15%. This achievement marks a departure from his previous stance of imposing 30% tariffs on imports from one of the United States’ largest trading partners.

Last week, Wall Street witnessed a strong performance, buoyed by solid earnings results and agreements reached between the U.S. and trading partners such as Japan and Indonesia. On Friday, all three major indices closed the day with gains. The Dow climbed 208.01 points to settle at 44,901.92, representing a 0.47% increase. The S&P 500 also gained 0.40%, closing at 6,388.64, marking its fifth consecutive day of record highs and the 14th such close this year. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.24% to finish at 21,108.32, achieving its 15th record close of 2025.

Market analysts point to a mixture of strong earnings and favorable trade developments as fuel for this continued optimism. “A series of earnings surprises, positive updates in U.S.-Japan trade relations, and upbeat comments on capital expenditure have kept investor enthusiasm thriving,” noted Nick Savone, a strategist at Morgan Stanley. He added that while earnings surprises generally uplift mood, market reactions will center on future guidance as investors remain attentive to ongoing trade dynamics.

The focus for the week ahead is particularly intense, with over 150 S&P 500 companies scheduled to release quarterly results. Key players, including Meta Platforms and Microsoft, will disclose earnings on Wednesday, followed by Amazon and Apple on Thursday. Investors are especially keen to hear about companies’ spending on artificial intelligence as they seek justifications for significant investments in this area.

Compounding these earnings releases, the Federal Reserve is expected to conduct a two-day policy meeting concluding Wednesday. While no change to the current interest rate target range of 4.25% to 4.5% is anticipated, traders will be analyzing the Fed’s statements for hints about potential rate cuts in September.

Tariffs and inflation will also be in the spotlight, particularly with the impending release of the June Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. This report, which serves as the Fed’s favored measure of inflation, is projected to show year-over-year inflation rising to 2.4% from the previous 2.3% and monthly inflation increasing from 0.14% to 0.31%.

Further employment data is also on the outlook for this week, including reports on job openings and turnover set for Tuesday, alongside ADP’s private payroll numbers on Wednesday. Initial jobless claims will be monitored on Thursday, culminating with the highly anticipated U.S. jobs report for July on Friday. Economists expect the economy to have added around 115,000 jobs, a decrease from June’s 147,000, while the unemployment rate may see a slight uptick to 4.2%.