Following the notable pullback seen in the previous week, stocks may 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 less than a tenth of a percent.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of closely watched data on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week.
The inflation data may have a considerable impact on the outlook for interest rates following last week’s mixed monthly jobs report.
The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, is expected to slow to 5.0 percent from 5.3 percent.
Ahead of the inflation data, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is indicating a 92.4 percent chance of another quarter point rate hike at the next Fed meeting later this month.
Not long after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of May. Wholesale inventories are expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.
Stocks saw substantial volatility over the course of the trading session on Friday, with the major averages showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line following the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report.
The major averages moved to the downside going into the close and ended the day in negative territory. The Dow slid 187.38 points or 0.6 percent to 33,734.88, the Nasdaq edged down 18.37 points or 0.1 percent to 13,660.72 and the S&P 500 dipped 12.64 points or 0.3 percent to 4,398.95.
For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow plunged by 2.0 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled by 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq slumped by 0.9 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index had climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.60 to $73.26 a barrel after surging $2.06 to $73.86 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $17.10 to $1,932.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $8.80 to $1,923.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 142.45 yen versus the 142.21 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0946 compared to last Friday’s $1.0967.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Ahead Of Inflation Data
2023-07-10 12:48:56
