U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading

Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks may give back ground in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 76 points.

Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street after the Dow and the S&P 500 ended last Friday’s trading at new record closing highs.

Recent consolidation efforts have proved short-lived, however, potentially resulting in a half-hearted pullback by the markets.

Analysts have expressed concerns about the markets being overbought for months, but traders have continued to push stocks higher amid concerns about missing out on further upside.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep traders on the sidelines following last week’s huge batch of largely upbeat data.

Among individual stocks, shares of Peloton (PTON) are moving sharply lower in pre-market trading after the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned owners of the Peloton Tread+ exercise machine after “multiple incidents of small children and a pet being injured beneath the machines.”

Office furniture maker Herman Miller (MLHR) is also likely to come under pressure after announcing an agreement to acquire furniture and accessories company Knoll (KNL) for $1.8 billion in cash and stock.

On the other hand, shares of GameStop (GME) are seeing significant pre-market strength after announcing George Sherman will be stepping down as CEO on July 31, 2021, or earlier upon the appointment of a successor.

Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson (HOG) may also move to the upside after reporting better than expected first quarter results and providing upbeat guidance.

Extending the rally seen during trading on Thursday, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. With the continued upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 once again set new record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 164.68 points or 0.5 percent to 34,200.67 and the S&P 500 rose 15.05 points or 0.4 percent to 4,185.47. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a more modest gain, inching up 13.58 points or 0.1 percent to 14,052.34.

The major averages all posted notable gains for the week. The S&P 500 surged up by 1.4 percent, while the Dow and the Nasdaq jumped by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed just above the unchanged line, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged up by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index down by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.03 to $63.16 a barrel after falling $0.33 to $63.13 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $13.40 to $1,780.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $3.50 to $1,776.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.09 yen versus the 108.80 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.2031 compared to last Friday’s $1.1983.