Stock futures flat after best week for S&P 500 since 2020

US stock futures were flat in overnight trading on Sunday after the best week for the S&P 500 since 2020.

Dow futures rose 15 points. S&P 500 futures rose 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

The three major averages last week posted their best week since November 2020, boosted in large part by stock growth. The S&P 500 rose 6.1% from Monday to Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week up 5.5%, and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.1%.

“After one of the best weeks in years, the question now is will stocks be able to hold these gains? The good news is that April has historically been one of the best months for stocks, so the calendar remains positive for bulls,” said Ryan Dettrick of LPL Financial.

The S&P 500 recovered nearly half of its corrective losses last week as investors received much-anticipated clarity from the Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates for the first time since 2018. The central bank has indicated that it expects to raise rates at its remaining six meetings this year.

“I think the Fed has cleared the way for investors to focus on earnings again,” said Julian Emanuel, head of equities, derivatives and quantitative strategy at Evercore ISI. “The bottom line is… earnings estimates are up since the start of the year.”

Market participants are also watching the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that if peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin fail, it will mean the start of World War III.

If these attempts fail, then this means that this is World War III, Zelensky said in an interview with CNN’s Fred Zakaria.

Ukrainian and Russian officials met sporadically for peace talks that failed to make progress toward major concessions.

Investors are also assessing the rise in Covid cases in Europe caused by emerging alternative.

The economic calendar is relatively light this week but many companies are reporting profits. Nike and Tencent Music report quarterly results on Monday.

— CNBC’s Patti Doom contributed to this report.