Wall Street Aims To Open Slightly Positive

The Taliban violence in Afghanistan is continuing, while the U.S. troops are awaiting a safe passage, with the deadline ending tomorrow. U.S. President Biden has said the August 31 deadline is not a cliff and will ensure safe passage for all American and Afghan allies. It is believed that more than 300 U.S. citizens are there still in Kabul and around.

Meanwhile, the pandemic situation is still on an uphill.

Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately higher.

Asian shares finished mostly up, while European shares are trading mostly higher.
As of 7.55 am ET, the Dow futures were up 18.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 3.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were progressing 18.25 points.

The U.S. major averages climbed on Friday. The Dow ended the session with a gain of 242.68 points or 0.69 percent at 35,455.80, after climbing to a high of 35,479.18.

The S&P 500 ended stronger by 39.37 points or 0.88 percent at 4,509.37, slightly off a new intra-day high of 4,513.22. The Nasdaq, which climbed to 15,144.48, settled at 15,129.50, gaining 183.69 points or 1.23 percent.

On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index for July will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent, while it was down 1.9 percent in the previous month.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Fed Manufacturing Survey report for August is scheduled at 10.30 am ET. The consensus is for 25.0, while it was up 27.3 in the previous month.

A six-month Treasury Bill auction will be held at 11.30 am ET.

Asian stocks rose on Monday. Chinese shares ended slightly higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index edged up 5.99 points, or 0.17 percent, to 3,528.15 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 0.52 percent higher at 25,539.54.

Japanese shares advanced. The Nikkei average rose 148.15 points, or 0.54 percent, to 27,789.29 while the broader Topix index ended 1.11 percent higher at 1,950.14.

Australian markets posted modest gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched up 16.20 points, or 0.22 percent, to settle at 7,504.50 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 28.50 points, or 0.37 percent, at 7,788.60.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is progressing 12.15 points or 0.18 percent. The German DAX is adding 26.09 points or 0.16 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 4.88 points or 0.07 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 18.60 points or 0.15 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.17 percent.