Wall Street Aims Moderately High At Open

The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision might be in the spotlight this week. Reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and regional manufacturing activity also might get attention.

Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher on Monday.

Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading all positive.

As of 7.43 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 101.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were up 5.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 15.50 points.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday. The Dow climbed 0.9 percent to extend its winning streak for the sixth day and close at a fresh record high. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1 percent to a new record closing high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gave up 0.6 percent.

The S&P 500 also inched up 4.00 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 3,943.34, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed well off its worst levels of the day but still closed down 78.81 points or 0.6 percent at 13,319.86.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State Manufacturing Index for March will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 14.8, while it was up 12.1 in the previous month.

Treasury International Capital for January will be revealed at 4.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the Net long-term securities transactions were up $121 billion.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday. Chinese shares fell sharply. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 33.13 points, or 0.96 percent, to 3,419.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged up 0.33 percent to 28,833.76.

Industrial production in China jumped 35.1 percent year-on-year in the period including January and February.

Japanese shares edged up slightly. The Nikkei average inched up 49.14 points, or 0.17 percent, to 29,766.97, while the broader Topix index closed 0.91 percent higher at 1,968.73.

Australian markets swung between gains and losses before finishing marginally higher.
European shares are trading higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 19.28 points or 0.32 percent. The German DAX is adding 9.50 points or 0.06 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 22.29 points or 0.33 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 25.25 points or 0.23 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.28 percent.