Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the lackluster performance seen last Friday, stocks may show a strong 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 S&P 500 futures up by 0.9 percent.

Technology stocks may lead an early advance on Wall Street, as reflected by the 1.2 percent jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures.

Traders may look to pick up tech stocks at reduced levels following last week's slump, which saw the Nasdaq plunge by more than 4 percent.

The sector may receive a boost after South Korea announced a $576 billion semiconductor and AI investment plan, backed by Samsung and SK Hynix, to strengthen its global chip leadership.

Investors are also keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East, as the U.S. and Iran have reportedly agreed to once again pause hostilities following an exchange of strikes over the weekend.

President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social this morning that Iran has requested a meeting, with the talks set to take place in Doha, Qatar.

"Once again, the familiar pattern has played out: renewed exchanges between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend briefly unsettled markets, only for reports of both sides returning to negotiations to restore confidence by Monday morning," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.

"That confidence, however, may be getting ahead of the facts," she added. "While markets appear comfortable pricing a relatively swift normalization of energy markets, there remain clear signs that negotiations are far from straightforward."

After recovering from an initial slump, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Friday. The major averages spent the day rest bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages ended the day modestly lower but well off their worst levels. The Dow dipped 44.51 points or 0.1 percent to 51,876.11, the Nasdaq slipped 60.99 points or 0.2 percent to 25,297.62 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.47 points or 0.1 percent to 7,354.02.

For the week, the Dow climbed by 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 tumbled by 2 percent and the Nasdaq plunged by 4.6 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.6 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are advancing $0.86 to $70.09 a barrel after tumbling $2.69 to $69.23 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $48.70 to $4,096.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $43.80 to $4,052.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 161.87 yen versus the 161.73 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1402 compared to last Friday's $1.1383.