Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.1 percent.

The markets may continue to benefit from recent upward momentum, which lifted the major averages to new record highs last week.

The Dow closed above 40,000 for the first time last Friday amid renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged next, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 74.3 percent chance rates will be a quarter point lower by September.

Overall trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.

The economic calendar remains relatively quiet throughout the week, although reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales may attract some attention along with the minutes of the latest Fed meeting.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly results from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) after the close of trading on Wednesday.

Following the modest pullback seen over the course of Thursday’s session, stocks showed a lack of direction during trading on Friday. The major average spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

Despite the choppy trading, the Dow closed above 40,000 for the first time, rising 134.21 points or 0.3 percent to 40,003.59.

The S&P 500 also crept up 6.17 points or 0.1 percent to 5,303.27, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 12.35 points or 0.1 percent at 16,685.97.

For the week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 jumped by 1.5 percent and the Dow shot up by 1.2 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.60 to $79.46 a barrel after climbing $0.83 to $80.06 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after surging $31.90 to $2,417.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $6.60 to $2,424 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.18 yen versus the 155.65 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0857 compared to last Friday’s $1.0869.