Tech Stocks May Help Lead Early Advance On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to show a strong move to the upside following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.

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.

Commodity, Currency Markets

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.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Monday even as investors kept taking profits on high-flying semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks due to worries about potentially higher interest rates by the end of the year.

The U.S. dollar was on track for its best monthly performance in nearly a year ahead of the all-important U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and the annual central banker confab at Sintra, Portugal, due this week.

Gold edged lower to hover around $4,060 an ounce amid renewed uncertainty over the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

Brent crude futures held above $72 a barrel in Asian trading, recovering modestly from four-month lows hit last week as the United States and Iran agreed to stop attacking each other and meet Tuesday in Qatar's capital to work out their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.1 percent to 4,073.90, led by consumer and healthcare shares.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up 1.6 percent to 23,026.68 after reports suggested that Apple is lobbying the U.S. government for approval to purchase DRAM chips from Chinese memory manufacturer CXMT.

Japanese markets reversed course to end slightly higher as chip-related stocks cut early losses and data showed Japanese consumers spent well ahead of forecasts in May.

The Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.2 percent higher at 69,468.11 after South Korea announced a $576 billion semiconductor and AI investment plan, backed by Samsung and SK Hynix, to strengthen its global chip leadership. The broader Topix Index rose 0.5 percent to 3,982.

SoftBank Group shares plunged 5.3 percent on news of a potential delay in OpenAI's IPO. Kioxia Holdings lost over 4 percent and Advantest fell 1.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron advanced 2.4 percent.

Seoul stocks ended slightly lower due to losses in the technology sector. The Kospi Index closed 0.2 percent lower at 8,394.65 after hitting as low as 8,127.99 earlier in the day.

Samsung Electronics slumped 4.8 percent and SK Hynix dropped 1.7 percent after the Financial Supervisory Service indefinitely postponed the launch of weekly options for blue-chip stocks, citing extreme volatility.

Battery stocks rallied, with LG Energy Solution surging 20.8 percent and Samsung SDI climbing 12.5 percent.

Australian markets rose notably, driven by a surge in banking, technology and resource stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.7 percent to close at 8,823.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended 0.7 percent higher at 9,026.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 13,545.56, reversing early losses.

Europe

European stocks are subdued on Monday, even as technology shares gained after South Korea announced a $576 billion semiconductor and AI investment plan, backed by Samsung and SK Hynix, to strengthen its global chip leadership.

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.

Crude oil prices rose slightly on renewed U.S.-Iran tensions ahead of upcoming peace talks in Qatar.

Technology stocks rallied, with ASML Holding, Infineon and STMicroelectronics climbing 1-3 percent.

Nordex Group shares rose about 1 percent after the German wind turbine maker secured a 325-MW order in the United States.

Dutch digital services operator Prosus N.V. rallied 2.4 percent after it reported an 84 percent jump in full-year adjusted core profit.

French biotech Ipsen advanced 1.7 percent after it agreed to acquire U.S. biotech Kartos Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $1.75 billion.

British telecom giant BT Group rose about 1 percent after it signed an agreement to combine its international business in a new joint venture with U.S. mobile operator Verizon.

U.S. Economic News

No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.