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 S&P 500 futures down by 0.1 percent.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street after last week’s rally lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to their best levels in over a year.
Trading activity is likely to remain somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data over the coming days.
Reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales are likely to attract attention, as traders look for additional clues about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.
Earnings season will also start to pick up steam this week, with Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), IBM Corp. (IBM), Netflix (NFLX), Tesla (TSLA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and American Express (AXP) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.
On the U.S. economic front, the New York Federal Reserve released a report showing a pullback in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of July.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to 1.1 in July after surging to 6.6 in June, although a positive reading still indicates growth. Economists had expected the index to drop to zero.
Stocks extended their recent rally in early trading on Friday but gave back ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dipping into negative territory.
The major averages eventually ended the session narrowly mixed. While the Dow rose 113.89 points or 0.3 percent to 34,509.03, the Nasdaq slipped 24.87 points or 0.2 percent to 14,113.70 and the S&P 500 edged down 4.62 points or 0.1 percent to 4,505.42.
Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved sharply higher for the week. While the Nasdaq surged by 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 and the Dow jumped by 2.4 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has plunged by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $1.02 to $74.40 a barrel after tumbling $1.47 to $75.42 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.60 to $1,964.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $7.40 to $1,957 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 138.88 yen versus the 138.80 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1223 compared to last Friday’s $1.1228.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading
2023-07-17 12:53:10
