Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

After turning in a strong performance last 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 up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 195,000 jobs in November after inching up by 12,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.

Reports on job openings, private sector employment, service sector activity and consumer sentiment are also likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on remarks by several Federal Reserve officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as they look for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 65.4 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by another 25 basis points later this month but a 34.6 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of November.

The ISM’s manufacturing PMI is expected to tick up to 47.5 in November from 46.5 in October, but a reading below 50 would still indicate contraction.

The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on construction spending in the month of October. Construction spending is expected to rise by 0.2 percent in October after inching up by 0.1 percent in September.

Following the pullback seen during Wednesday’s session, stocks moved back to the upside on Friday as trading resumed following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

With the rebound, the major averages more than offset the previous session’s losses, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow rose 188.59 points or 0.4 percent to 44,910.65, the Nasdaq advanced 157.69 points or 0.8 percent to 19,218.17 and the S&P 500 climbed 33.64 points or 0.6 percent to 6,032.38.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both jumped by 1.1 percent, while the narrower Dow surged by 1.4 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.92 to $68.92 a barrel after falling $0.72 to $68 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $16.20 to $2,681 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $11.30 to $2,669.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.25 yen versus the 149.74 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0506 compared to last Friday’s $1.0577.