Futures Pointing To Initial Strength On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly higher last week, stocks may see some further upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with Dow futures up by 52 points.

The futures remained positive despite the release of a report from the New York Federal Reserve showing an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity in the month of August.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index fell to a negative 4.21 in August from a positive 0.55 in July. A negative reading indicates a contraction in New York manufacturing activity.

The decline by the index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to climb to a positive 2.50.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release a separate report on homebuilder confidence.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders wait to see whether the markets will extend their recent run to record highs.

Reports on consumer prices, housing starts, and industrial production are due to be released in the coming days, potentially keeping traders on the sidelines.

The Federal Reserve is also scheduled to release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which could shed some light on the outlook for interest rates.

On the earnings front, Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), and Wal-Mart (WMT) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.

After moving mostly higher over the course of the previous session, stocks fluctuated as the trading day progressed on Friday. Despite the lackluster performance, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the session at a new record closing high.

The major averages finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq ticked up 4.50 points or 0.1 percent to 5,232.89, the Dow dipped 37.05 points or 0.2 percent to 18,576.47 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.74 points or 0.1 percent to 2,184.05.

Even with the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved modestly higher for the week. While the S&P 500 inched up by 0.1 percent, the Dow and the Nasdaq both crept up by 0.2 percent.