Stocks May Extend Recent Upward Move In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the strength seen 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 the Dow futures up by 55 points.

Early buying interest may be generated by the recent upward momentum shown by the markets, which lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to record closing highs last Friday.

Traders have largely reacted positively to the latest earnings news, with results from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Google (GOOG) contributing to the strength in the previous session.

Nonetheless, trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Fed is scheduled to hold a two-day meeting this week, culminating with the announcement of its latest policy decision Wednesday afternoon.

The central bank is not expected to announce an increase in interest rates, but traders will be paying close attention for any hints at a rate hike at the June meeting. A recent batch of disappointing economic data has led many analysts to predict that the Fed will delay its first rate hike until later in the year.

Traders are also likely to be looking ahead to the release of quarterly results from Apple (AAPL), with the tech giant due to release its second quarter results after the close of today's trading.

Ford (F), Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), Time Warner (TWX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and Visa (V) are among the slew of other companies due to report their quarterly results later this week.

Economic data may also attract attention in the coming days, as traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on first quarter GDP, consumer confidence, personal income and spending, and manufacturing activity.

After moving mostly higher over the course of the two previous sessions, stocks saw some further upside during trading on Friday. The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts by a wide margin.

While the Nasdaq advanced 36.02 points or 0.7 percent to 5,092.08, the Dow crept up 21.45 points or 0.1 percent to 18,080.14 and the S&P 500 rose 4.76 points or 0.2 percent to 2,117.69.

For the week, the Nasdaq surged up by 3.2 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has jumped by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.28 to $56.87 a barrel after advancing $1.41 or 2.5 percent to $57.15 a barrel in the week ended April 24th. Gold futures, which fell $28.10 or 2.3 percent to $1,175 an ounce last week, are climbing $11.20 to $1,186.20 an ounce.

Among currencies, the U.S. dollar moved mostly lower in the week ended April 24th, sliding 0.6 against the euro to $1.0873. Meanwhile, the greenback inched up 0.1 percent against the yen to end the week at 118.99 yen. The dollar is currently trading at 119.38 yen and is valued at $1.0832 versus the euro.