Following the lackluster performance seen last Friday, stocks may continue to show a lack of direction in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by just 0.1 percent.
Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of earnings news from several big name companies in the coming days.
Tech giants Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Intel (INTC), Meta Platforms (MET) and Microsoft (MSFT) are among a slew of well-known companies due to report their quarterly results this week.
A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of several key reports.
Reports on consumer confidence, new home sales, durable goods orders, first quarter GDP and personal income and spending are likely to attract attention in the coming days.
The personal income and spending report includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve and could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed meeting next week.
Meanwhile, shares of Coca-Cola (KO) are seeing pre-market strength after the beverage giant reported first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.
After ending Thursday’s session mostly lower, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Friday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session slightly higher. The Dow crept up 22.34 points or 0.1 percent to 33,808.96, the Nasdaq edged up 12.90 points or 0.1 percent to 12,072.46 and the S&P 500 inched up 3.73 points or 0.1 percent to 4,133.52.
Despite the uptick on the day, the major averages moved modestly lower for the week. While the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1 percent, the Dow slipped by 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq fell by 0.4 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. While Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are little changed on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.28 to $77.59 a barrel after climbing $0.50 to $77.87 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $28.60 to $1,990.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3.60 to $1,994.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 134.58 yen versus the 134.16 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1007 compared to last Friday’s $1.0986.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Continue To Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading
2023-04-24 12:50:01
