U.S. Stocks May Move To The Upside In Early Trading

After closing mixed for two consecutive sessions, stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 151 points.

Easing concerns about a potential recession may contribute to early buying interest on Wall Street following last week’s much stronger than expected jobs data.

The strong data has also increased the likelihood of another 75 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, however, potentially keeping a lid on the early gains.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant ahead of the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data in the coming days.

Economists have suggested that the inflation data could have an even greater impact on Fed officials’ thinking than the jobs data.

After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks saw substantial volatility over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages showed wild swings as the day progressed before eventually closing mixed for the second straight day.

While the Dow rose 76.65 points or 0.2 percent to 32,803.47 after tumbling by more than 200 points in early trading, the Nasdaq fell 63.03 points or 0.5 percent to 12,657.55 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.75 points or 0.2 percent to 4,145.19.

For the week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.2 percent and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.4 percent, while the narrower Dow edged down by 0.1 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 rose by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.94 to $88.07 a barrel after climbing $0.47 to $89.01 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after falling $15.70 to $1,791.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $11.50 to $1,802.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 134.88 yen versus the 135.01 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0187 compared to last Friday’s $1.0183.

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