April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were set to open little changed on Monday as investors braced for a week packed with key economic data and earnings from some of Wall Street's biggest companies, while U.S. trade policy developments remained in focus.
The three main indexes ended Friday with weekly gains, while the small-cap Russell 2000 (.RUT), marked its best week since November as signs emerged that the U.S. and China could be willing to de-escalate trade tensions.
However, competing claims on the state of negotiations from Beijing and U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the uncertainties facing investors as they attempt to navigate Trump's disruption of world trade.
"The market really just continues in this game of trying to figure out what's next for President Trump and trade negotiations," said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.
Investors are also watching company earnings and executive comments for indications on how the new tariffs could impact their outlook. The spotlight will be on "Magnificent Seven" megacaps Apple (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), and Meta Platforms (META.O), as 180 S&P 500 companies prepare to report results this week.
Big tech companies can continue to beat earnings expectations as they are more resistant to tariffs, Blancato said. "Are you going to tell somebody to not use a Microsoft operating system at this point because of a tariff? That's highly unlikely."
So far, earnings season has been somewhat upbeat, with S&P 500 earnings now expected to climb 9.7% in the first quarter from a year ago, higher than an April 1 estimate for an 8% gain, according to LSEG IBES.
However, many companies have flagged the uncertainty caused by changes in trade policy, with some cutting or pulling annual forecasts.
Crucial economic data, most notably monthly U.S. payrolls data, gross domestic product data and the personal consumption expenditures price index, will also be keenly watched for signals on how new tariffs are impacting economic growth, inflation and the labor market.
At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 10 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.07%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 18.75 points, or 0.1%.
The week also marks 100 days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Despite an initial rally in equities after his election in November, the S&P 500 (.SPX), has declined more than 4% since then, and fallen over 10% from its February record high as markets assess the potential impact of tariffs.
A majority of economists polled by Reuters said the risks of the global economy slipping into recession this year were high.
Among individual stocks, Dominos Pizza (DPZ.O), fell 3.6% in premarket trading after it posted a surprise decline in first-quarter U.S. same-store sales on weak consumer spending.
Web browser developer Opera's U.S.-listed shares (OPRA.O), jumped 13.3% after the company lifted its annual revenue forecast.
Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), rose 2.5% after Airbus (AIR.PA), reached a deal to take over some of the company's plants.
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
