Following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.
The upward momentum on Wall Street may reflect optimism about the strength of corporate results as earnings season starts to pick up steam.
Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), Procter & Gamble (PG), Netflix (NFLX), Tesla (TSLA), AT&T (T) and American Express (AXP) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders also await the release of reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and existing home sales.
Uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East may also keep some traders on the sidelines, with Israel purportedly planning a full-scale invasion of the Hamas-controlled Gaze Strip.
In U.S. economic news, the New York Federal Reserve released a report showing a downturn in regional manufacturing activity in the month of October.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to a negative 4.6 in October from a positive 1.9 in September, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in activity. Economists had expected the index to drop to a negative 7.0.
Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading on day on Friday, extending the pullback seen during Thursday’s session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a steep drop on the day, while the Dow managed to close modestly higher.
The Nasdaq tumbled 166.98 points or 1.2 percent to 13,407.23 and the S&P 500 slid 21.83 points or 0.5 percent to 4,327.78. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow inched up 39.15 points or 0.1 percent to 33,670.29.
The major averages also turned in a mixed performance for the week. While the Nasdaq dipped by 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 0.5 percent and the Dow climbed by 0.8 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.0 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are seeing modest strength amid light trading. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index is nearly unchanged.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.56 to $88.25 a barrel after soaring $4.78 to $87.69 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after spiking $58.50 to $1,941.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $6.40 to $1,935.10 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.44 yen versus the 149.57 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0534 compared to last Friday’s $1.0510.
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