U.S. Stocks May Show Initial Move To The Upside

(RTTNews) – With traders returning to their desks following the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.

Stocks may see initial strength as traders keep a close eye on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

The White House said a final decision on whether to support the Israeli military action against Tehran could come within two weeks.

As the conflict entered the eighth day, Israel and Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at each other with full force.

Residents in southern Israel have been rocked by more Iranian missile strikes, while Israel has continued to hit dozens of targets in Iran.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said regional manufacturing activity remained weak in the month of June.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity was unchanged in June after jumping to a negative 4.0 in May, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 1.0.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said the survey’s future indicators suggest less widespread expectations for growth over the next six months.

The report said the diffusion index for future general activity tumbled to 18.3 in June after soaring to 47.2 in May.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of May. The leading economic index is expected to edge down by 0.1 percent in May after slumping by 1.0 percent in April.

After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday to end the day roughly flat.

While the Nasdaq inched up 25.18 points or 0.1 percent to 19,546.27, the S&P 500 edged down 1.85 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,980.87 and the Dow slipped 44.14 points or 0.1 percent to 42,171.66.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.3 percent South Korea’s Kospi surged by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.0 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging up $0.16 to $75.30 a barrel after rising $0.30 to $75.14 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $1.20 to $3,408.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $44.50 to $3,363.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 145.47 yen versus the 145.45 yen it fetched on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1524 compared to yesterday’s $1.1495.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.