U.S. Stocks May Edge Higher Amid Reports On Progress In U.S.-Iran Talks

(RTTNews) - Following the long holiday weekend, 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 0.1 percent.

A slump by the price of crude oil may contribute to early strength on Wall Street amid reports of progress in talks between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters the talks have made "great progress" despite a "little bit of threatening" and a "little bit of whining."

Vance also called Iran's agreement to allow IAEA inspectors to return to their country a "major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran."

In a joint statement, Qatari and Pakistani mediators also said "encouraging progress has been made" during the negotiations.

Overall buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as wait for more concrete signs that the fragile peace deal will hold.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of key inflation data later in the week.

After coming under pressure late in the previous session, stocks showed a significant move back to the upside in early trading on Thursday and continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, surging 496.28 points or 1.9 percent to 26,517.93. The S&P 500 also jumped 80.48 points or 1.1 percent to 7,500.58, while the narrower Dow posted a much more modest gain, inching up 72.15 points or 0.1 percent to 51,564.70.

For the holiday shortened week, the Nasdaq shot up by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.9 percent and the Dow climbed by 0.7 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 surged by 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.72 to $75.88 a barrel after slipping $0.19 to $76.60 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $135.50 to $4,245.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $22.30 to $4,223.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 161.72 yen versus the 161.28 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1461 compared to last Friday's $1.1468.