Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks may give back ground in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 84 points or 0.2 percent.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as lingering concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and higher oil prices inspire some traders to cash in on last week’s gains.
Recent profit taking efforts have fallen short, however, as stocks moved lower at the start of several of the past few sessions only to move sharply higher over the course of the trading day.
The rally seen last week helped lift the major averages well off their recent lows, although they also remain well off their record highs.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the latest developments in Ukraine, with peace talks with Russia failing to make substantial progress on key issues.
Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, as a lack of major U.S. economic data keeps some traders on the sidelines.
Reports on durable goods orders, new and pending home sales and weekly jobless claims may attract attention in the coming days.
The major U.S. stock indexes moved in opposite directions early in the session on Friday but all moved notably higher over the course of the trading day. The upward move extended the rally seen over the three previous sessions.
The major averages finished the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 274.17 points or 0.8 percent to 34,754.93, the Nasdaq surged 279.06 points or 2.1 percent to 13,893.84 and the S&P 500 jumped 51.45 points or 1.2 percent to 4,463.12.
For the week, the Nasdaq soared by 8.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow spiked by 6.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed on the day. While China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are spiking $4.42 to $109.12 a barrel after jumping $1.72 to $104.70 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after falling $13.90 to $1,929.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $2.90 to $1,926.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 119.23 yen versus the 119.17 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1036 compared to last Friday’s $1.1051.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground Following Last Week’s Rally
2022-03-21 12:56:52
