U.S. stock index futures were flat Monday, with investors preparing for more quarterly earnings reports. Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained about 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures traded flat. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked up 58 points, or 0.17%. Earnings season continued with results from State Street, M&T Bank and Charles Schwab before the bell. Schwab shares, which have been under pressure recently as traders feared the brokerage may suffer a similar fate to regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, rose slightly premarket. Despite broader banking concerns, the company’s defended its financial position, noting last month it has a low loan-to-deposit ratio. Investors have been eyeing the overall health of the financial sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month spurred a liquidity crisis. Corporate earnings got off to a positive start last week as banking giants Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase beat expectations, seeming to suggest that larger banks are faring better than expected despite mounting recession fears. But discouraging retail sales data showed a slowdown in consumer spending by 1% in March pulled markets lower Friday. For the week, however, stocks remained resilient, with the Dow posting its fourth straight positive week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both notched their fourth positive week in five. As companies grapple with sticky inflation and higher rates, many investors have braced for a downbeat earnings season, but data from Bank of America suggests that this earnings reporting season may already show companies hanging on. Of the companies that reported during the first week, 90% topped EPS estimates. That marks the best beat rate to start earnings season since at least 2012, the Wall Street firm said. The reporting period for financial companies and banks presses on with reports from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Outside of financials, results from electric vehicle heavyweight Tesla, IBM and Netflix are also due out. Asia-Pacific traded higher on Monday, as investors looked ahead to another major earnings week on Wall Street, including the likes of Charles Schwab, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains in the region and climbed 1.73%, while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite traded 1.42% higher to close at 3,385.6. The Shenzhen Component rose 0.46% and ended the day at 11,855.48, ahead of China’s gross domestic product report on Tuesday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.27% to close at 7,381.5, extending its performance from last week’s gain of nearly 2% with all 11 sectors finishing the week higher. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 inched up 0.07% to end at 28,514.78 and the Topix rose 0.41% finish at 2,026.97. South Korea’s Kospi erased earlier losses and gained 0.17%, ending Monday at 2,575.91 and the Kosdaq closed 0.63% higher at 909.5. Oil prices were steady on Monday as investors eyed Chinese economic data for signs of demand recovery in the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Brent crude futures nudged 8 cents lower to $86.23 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $82.38 a barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Both contracts notched their fourth weekly gain last week – the longest-such streak since mid-2022. Gold continued to hold above the key $2,000 level on Monday, undeterred by the previous session’s correction, while investors assess the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike trajectory. Spot gold was up 0.3% to $2,008.09 per ounce at 1225 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.3% higher at $2,022.00.