Stock futures slip as investors anticipate economic reports

Investors are anticipating a series of crucial economic reports and are keeping a tight eye on the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate hikes, thus stock futures are lower early Monday morning.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.38 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.42 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively.

The Dow and S&P 500 finished the previous session higher, capping off their second consecutive week of gains. The Dow rose 0.4 percent on Monday.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, the S&P 500 has gained 0.5 percent, more than recouping its losses. The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, fell 0.2 percent but ended the week on a positive note.

Investors are keeping a close eye on developments in Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as anticipation for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda said, “It seems the skyrocketing move higher with commodity prices has taken a break and that has allowed investors a chance to pile back into equities.”

He also added “Geopolitical risks remain very elevated and the rally in equities over the past two weeks is impressive. The U.S. economy is still in good shape, but buying every stock market dip probably won’t be the attitude for most traders going forward given how hawkish the Fed has turned.”

The Federal Reserve is again in the spotlight for investors. Following the central bank's chair Jerome Powell's vow to be tough on inflation and say rate hikes could become more aggressive if required, Wall Street firms from Goldman Sachs to Bank of America penciled in half-point increments in future Fed meetings this year.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose to a new multi-year high of 2.5 percent on Friday as investors priced in a more aggressive rate hiking cycle, lifting banking equities while pulling back tech companies.

This week's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is anticipated by investors. As the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy, the JOLTS report is one piece of employment data that the Fed is keeping an eye on.

ADP will also issue its private payrolls statistics on Friday, ahead of the major event, the highly anticipated monthly employment report.

Although Monday is a slow day for earnings reports, several large firms, including BioNTech, Micron, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, are slated to release their quarterly results this week.