Futures Pointing To Mixed Open On Wall Street

Following the mixed performance seen last Friday, the major U.S. stock indexes may once again move in opposite directions in early trading on Monday.

The major index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open, with the Nasdaq futures up by 84 points but the Dow futures down by 48 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq appears poised to benefit from strength among technology stocks amid a decrease in U.S. treasury yields.

After hovering near its highest levels in over a year in the previous session, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note has shown a notable move to the downside.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to two days of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell is set to testify about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, with the Fed chief appearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on existing home sales in the month of February. Economists expect existing home sales to tumble by 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 6.49 million.

After ending Thursday’s session sharply lower, U.S. stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. While the Nasdaq rebounded after Thursday’s sell-off, the Dow showed a notable move to the downside.

The major averages finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Nasdaq climbed 99.07 points or 0.8 percent to 13,215.24, but the Dow slid 234.33 points or 0.7 percent to 32,627.97 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.36 points or 0.1 percent to 3,913.10.

For the week, the major averages all moved lower. The Dow fell by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both declined by 0.8 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.18 to $61.24 a barrel after jumping $1.42 to $61.42 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $9.20 to $1,741.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $10.70 to $1,731 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.81 yen versus the 108.88 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1923 compared to last Friday’s $1.1904.

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