1. Dow to open higher despite drag from Boeing
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open for the Dow Jones Industrial Average at Monday's open on Wall Street despite a drag from shares of Dow component Boeing. The aircraft maker's stock was under pressure in the premarket after falling nearly 7% on Friday on new 737 Max fallout. Boeing's drop was responsible for about two-thirds of the Dow's nearly 256-point decline. Ahead of Monday trading, the Dow was just over 2% away July's all-time high. The S&P 500 was about 1.3% from its record.
2. Stocks could go for record highs if earnings are strong
Those all-time stock highs could be tested as about 120 companies in the S&P 500, or around 24%, are scheduled to release their quarterly results this week. Some of those companies include Caterpillar and Boeing, both of which are expected to report Wednesday before the bell. Amazon, Intel, McDonald's and Chipotle Mexican Grill are also on deck for the week. More than 14% of S&P 500 companies reported through Friday, FactSet data shows. Of those companies, 81% posted earnings that beat analyst expectations.
3. Boeing faces more 737 Max fallout
A 2016 internal survey at Boeing showed a third of employees felt "potential undue pressure" on the job, including for safety approvals, according to documents received by lawmakers investigating the manufacturer's 737 Max plane following two fatal crashes. On Sunday, Boeing said it understands the outcry over leaked messages from a former test pilot over erratic software behavior on its 737 Max jet two years before recent crashes. The company also said it will cooperate with investigators. The planes remain grounded worldwide.
4. IMF takes down estimates for China's economic growth
The International Monetary Fund, in its World Economic Outlook report, said the Chinese economy could grow at 5.8% next year, slower than the 6.1% forecast for 2019. The IMF's deputy managing director told CNBC's Geoff Cutmore that trade tensions with the President Donald Trump White House were among the factors pulling down the world's second largest economy. In a U.S.-China trade dispute dating to the Obama administration, China is seeking $2.4 billion in retaliatory sanctions for noncompliance with a World Trade Organization ruling on U.S. duties imposed between 2007 and 2012.
5. Buttigieg surges into top-tier in Iowa caucuses poll
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, surged within striking distance of Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, in an Iowa caucuses poll from Suffolk University and USA Today. Biden has seen his frontrunner status slipping at the national level as Warren surges. The Iowa poll, taken last week, put Biden at 18% support, Warren at 17% and Buttigieg at 13% among 500 Democrats likely to participate in the Iowa caucuses. That's a dramatic shift from June, when the Iowa poll showed Biden led Warren by double digits and Buttigieg trailed at just 6%.