Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen during last Friday’s session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key U.S. economic data later in the week.

On Friday, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in the month of May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The report, which is expected to show a modest slowdown by the annual rate of consumer price growth, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders and pending home sales may also attract attention in the coming days.

Following the mixed performance seen in Thursday’s sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of 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 day narrowly mixed. While the Dow inched up 15.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 39,150.33, the Nasdaq dipped 32.23 points or 0.2 percent to 17,689.36 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.55 points or 0.2 percent to 5,464.62.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow jumped by 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq was nearly unchanged.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess recent activity in the markets, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach new record intraday highs on Thursday before turning lower.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, saw further upside over the course of Thursday’s trading, and today’s uptick lifted the blue chip index to its best closing level in a month.

Traders also kept an eye on shares of Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI darling has recently been a key driver of the markets.

Nvidia tumbled by 3.5 percent on Tuesday and by slumped by another 3.2 percent today after briefly surpassing Microsoft (MSFT) as the world’s most valuable public company on Tuesday.

On the U.S. economic front, The National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales in the U.S. decreased roughly in line with economist estimates in the month of May.

The report said existing home sales slid 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 4.11 million in May after tumbling by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.14 million. Economists had expected existing home sales to drop to a rate of 4.10 million.

The continued decline by existing home sales came as the median existing-home price reached a record high $419,300 in May, up 5.8 percent from $396,500 a year ago.

“Home prices reaching new highs are creating a wider divide between those owning properties and those who wish to be first-time buyers,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

“The mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than double that of homes purchased before 2020,” he added. “Still, first-time buyers in the market understand the long-term benefits of owning.”

A separate report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of May.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index decreased by 0.5 percent in May following a 0.6 percent decline in April. Economist had expected the index to dip by 0.3 percent.

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, resulting in a 1.4 percent decline by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a sharp pullback by the price of the precious metal.

Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

On the other hand, networking stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.2 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are inching up $0.18 to $80.91 a barrel after falling $0.56 to $80.73 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $37.80 to $2,331.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging up $6.40 to $2,337.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.51 yen versus the 159.80 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0728 compared to last Friday’s $1.0693.

Asia

Asian stocks retreated on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data and comments from Fed officials for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Upcoming French and U.K. elections and Thursday’s clash between U.S. Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump also remained on investors’ radar.

Gold edged up on softer bond yields, while oil was marginally lower, extending declines from Friday on concerns of higher-for-longer interest rates.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.2 percent to 2,963.10 and the yuan hit a seven-month low after data showed China’s fiscal revenue dropped 2.8 percent in the first five months of 2024 compared to the previous year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished marginally lower at 18,027.71 as China and the European Union agreed to start talks on the increased tariffs on electric vehicles.

Japanese markets bucked the weak trend to end higher as the Bank of Japan’s summary of opinions from its June 13-14 policy meeting showed board members debated the need for a timely rate hike.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.5 percent to 38,804.65, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.6 percent higher at 2,740.19.

A weaker yen bolstered shares of export-related companies after a top currency official said authorities are ready to intervene to support the currency 24-hours a day, if needed. Automakers Mazda Motor, Honda Motor and Toyota rose between 1.2 percent and 2.5 percent.

Seoul stocks ended notably lower, with the Kospi falling 0.7 percent to 2,764.73.

Australian markets closed lower due to losses among commodity stocks. Markets also awaited the release of the Australian May consumer price data on Wednesday for clues to the monetary policy path ahead.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.8 percent to 7,733.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 0.8 percent at 7,975.10.

Star Entertainment shares slumped 4.1 percent after the casino operator lowered its expectations for full-year earnings and revenue.

Premier Investments surged 6.9 percent after Myer Holdings offered to acquire its apparel business through an all-scrip merger. Shares of the latter soared 20.2 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index slid 0.5 percent to 11,627.86 despite the May trade surplus exceeding expectations.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher on Monday ahead of this week’s U.S. presidential debate and France’s snap parliamentary election.

The dollar slipped and bond yields eased as investors await key U.S. inflation data and comments from Federal Reserve officials this week for clarity on the Fed’s rate path.

While the French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In corporate news, Belgian pharmaceutical company argenx has soared after receiving approval from the U.S. health regulator for Vyvgart Hytrulo, a treatment for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Prudential shares have also moved sharply higher in London after the insurer launched a $2 billion share buyback program.

Britvic has also spiked as Carlsberg AS secured the agreement of PepsiCo Inc for a potential £3.1 billion ($3.9 billion) takeover of the British soft drinks manufacturer.

GSK has also shown a notable move to the upside after Japan approve its Omjjara (momelotinib) for the treatment of myelofibrosis.

Safran has also risen after it entered into exclusive discussions to acquire 100 percent of Preligens for an enterprise value of 220 million euros.

Valneva SE has also jumped after Health Canada approved IXCHIQ, the company’s single-dose vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya virus in individuals 18 years of age and older.

Meanwhile, Eurofins Scientific has plummeted after research firm Muddy Waters recommended a “short” position on the stock.

Online retailer Zalando has also plunged after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to “equal weight” from “overweight.”

U.S. Economic News

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is scheduled to speak on monetary policy and the economy before an event in partnership with the Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California and the San Francisco Press Club at 2 pm ET.