Stocks are likely to move to the upside early in Tuesday’s session as trading resumes following the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.4 percent.
The markets may continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen last week, which lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 back within striking distance of their record highs.
The S&P 500 ended last Thursday’s trading just shy of the record closing high set in January before edging slightly lower on Friday.
Last week’s gains came after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum calling on members of his administration to review plans for reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners but stopped short of imposing the tariffs.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in the month of February.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index jumped to a positive 5.7 in February from a negative 12.6 in January, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to climb to a negative 1.0.
Meanwhile, the report said optimism about the outlook for conditions over the next six months dropped significantly, with the index for future business activity slumping to 22.2 in February from 36.7 in January.
Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of February. The housing market index is expected to come in unchanged after inching up to 47 in January.
Following the rally seen during Thursday’s session, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually ending the day mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 81.13 points or 0.4 percent to 20,026.77, the S&P 500 edged down 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,114.64 and the narrower Dow fell 165.35 points or 0.4 percent to 44,546.08.
Despite the mixed performance on the day, stocks posted strong gains for the week. The Nasdaq surged by 2.6 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.5 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.6 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved modestly higher. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.2 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.45 to $71.19 a barrel after falling $0.55 to $70.74 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $44.70 to $2,900.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $31.70 to $2,932.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 151.68 yen compared to the 151.51 yen it fetched on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0445 compared to yesterday’s $1.0484.
Business News
Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street
2025-02-18 13:51:02
