Futures point to gains for tech-related stocks as bond yields ease

[March 22, 2021]  By Medha Singh

(Reuters) - Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Monday, with heavyweight technology stocks set to rebound after a surge in bond yields in recent weeks sparked a flight from richly valued equities.

A sharp run up in Treasury yields since mid-February has dictated the course of equities trading, while weighing on high-growth tech stocks, whose valuations look stretched.

Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed about 0.9% to start the week. The index is still down more than 6% from its Feb. 12 record closing high.

The S&P 500 and the Dow, however, clinched all-time highs as early as last week on bets that stimulus and vaccine rollouts would lead to a strong rebound in the U.S. economy.

Kansas City Southern jumped about 17% after Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd agreed to acquire the railroad operator in a $25 billion cash-and-stock deal to create the first railway spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada.

At 06:34 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 79 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 106.75 points, or 0.83%.

Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc led gains among Dow components in trading before the bell.

Big U.S. lenders including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America, which have enjoyed a rally on brightening economic prospects, slipped about 1% each.

The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF sank about 19% as President Tayyip Erdogan's decision to oust a hawkish central bank governor sparked fears of a reversal of recent rate hikes.

(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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