Wall Street Looks Headed For Positive Start

Higher futures point to a positive start for stocks on Wall Street Monday morning. However, the mood is likely to remain cautious with investors looking ahead to the upcoming Jackson Hole Symposium, and awaiting some key earnings updates.

The Dow futures are up 0.27 percent and the S&P futures are gaining 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq futures are up 0.55 percent.

In China, the People’s Bank of China today lowered its one-year loan prime rate by 0.10 basis points to 3.45 percent, but left the five-year rate unchanged at 4.20 percent.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, is likely to provide some clues about the central bank’s future interest rate moves.

U.S. stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors largely staying cautious amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended the session with a gain of 25.83 points or 0.07 percent at 34,500.66. The S&P 500 ended little changed at 4,369.71, while the Nasdaq finished with a loss of 26.16 points or 0.2 percent at 13,290.78.

Last week, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq shed about 2.2 percent, 2.1 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively.

Asian stocks ended on a mixed note on Monday, amidst disappointment over weak policy response from Beijing to the deepening property crisis.

European stocks are up firmly in positive territory Monday afternoon. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is up 0.5 percent, Germany’s DAX is advancing 0.69 percent and France’s CAC 40 is rising 1.15 percent. The pan European Stoxx 500 is up 0.7 percent.