Wall Street Seeks To Run Last Leg With Optimism

(RTTNews) - Trading in the U.S. index futures suggests that Wall Street stocks may open Tuesday's session on an upbeat note, although lighter volumes associated with pre-holiday trade may not lend credence to any move. Commodities are moving back to the upside even as the dollar is mixed. Among the global markets, Asian stocks closed higher for the day, while the European markets are rallying strongly. The domestic markets may also keep an eye on economic data on house prices and consumer confidence. As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are adding 84 points, the S&P 500 futures are up 9 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 24.50 points.

U.S. stocks retreated on Monday amid a pullback in commodity prices.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department is set to release data on international trade in goods at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the deficit to widen to $60.9 billion in November from $58.4 billion in October.

S&P/Case-Shiller is scheduled to release its house price index for October at 9 am ET. The 20-city composite house price index is expected to increase 0.6 percent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same pace of increase as in the previous month. Annually, house prices may have risen 5.5 percent.

The Conference Board is due to release the results of its consumer confidence index for December at 10 am ET. The consumer confidence index is expected to increase to 93.5 from 90.4 in November.

The Treasury will release the results of its auction of 5-year notes at 1 pm ET.

In corporate news, Pep Boys (PBY) said its board determined that a proposal received from Icahn Enterprises on December 28th, 2015 for $18.50 per share is a superior proposal relative to the agreement it entered with Bridgestone for $15.50 per share, which was later enhanced to $17 per share.

Standard & Poor's announced that Willis Group (WSH) will replace Fossil Group (FOSL) in the S&P 500 Index and that Fossil Group will replace Towers Watson & Co. (TW) in the S&P MidCap 400 Index after the close of trading on January 4th, 2016. Additionally, Adeptus Health (ADPT) will replace Ferroglobe (GSM) in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index after the close of trading on December 31st.

The Asian markets advanced, especially those that came online following Monday's public holiday rising notably. However, the Vietnamese market bucked the uptrend with a moderate loss.

The Japanese market ended higher, as the dollar rebounded against the yen in late trading. The Nikkei 225 average opened lower and languished below the unchanged line till the mid-session before recovering strongly in the afternoon. The index ended up 108.88 points or 0.58 percent at 18,982.

A majority of stocks advanced in the session, led by export stocks. Meanwhile, some retail and steel stocks came under selling pressure. Among individual stocks, Nippon Suisan Kaisha rallied 6.07 percent, while UNY fell over 3 percent.

After a weak start, Australia's All Ordinaries moved decisively higher by late morning trading. The average advanced steadily thereafter before ending up 59.50 points or 1.13 percent at more than a 1-month high of 5,316. Consumer, financial, healthcare, IT and telecom stocks ended solidly higher, while material stocks lost ground in the session.

China's Shanghai Composite ended a volatile session up 29.96 points or 0.85 percent at 3,564 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 80 points or 0.36 percent before ending at 22,000.

European stocks started on a firm note and have been steadily rising since then. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up over 1 percent each, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is gaining moderately.