Stock futures higher head of housing data, Fed speaker
New York (Sept 21) Stock futures were making moderate gains early Monday, as investors waited for home-sales data and a speech from a key Federal Reserve member to provide further direction.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ5, +0.67% rose 35 points to 16,353, while futures for the S&P 500 ESZ5, +0.68% added 4.65 points to 1,955.25. Futures for the Nasdaq Composite NQZ5, +0.61% were up 11.70 points to 4,338.50.
The dollar DXY, +0.26% was rising along with crude prices CLV5, +1.97% on Monday, but investors remained wary about stocks following the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to leave interest rates unchanged and its concerns about the global economy. Fears about global growth triggered losses on Friday, when the Dow industrials DJIA, -1.74% and S&P 500 SPX, -1.62% losing 1.7% and 1.6%.
“This week will require traders to look in detail at their positions and decide their strategies to the end of the year, based on no rate increase from the Fed,” said Nour Al-Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities in Abu Dhabi, in a note.
Investors are hoping for more clarity from a flock of Fed speakers this week. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart will speak to the Buckhead Rotary Club in Atlanta at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday. But the big speech of the week could be Thursday, when Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is to speak.
Read: Yellen, other Fed officials to ramp up October rate-hike debate
Over the weekend, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he argued against keeping rates on hold because he believes the economy has recovered sufficiently enough for a hike, while John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed, said it would be an “appropriate step” for the Fed to begin hiking rates this year. But only Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker voted to raise rates.
Read: Three Fed officials on board for rate hike before year-end
On the data front, existing home sales for August are due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
Stocks to watch: Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.78% could draw attention after some of China’s most popular names in the company’s App Store were found to be infected with malicious software, The Wall Street Journal reported. It’s unusual for malware to get through to Apple’s AppStore, given the stringent reviews apps go through to get there.
Overseas, shares of Volkswagen AG VOW, -19.12% VOW, -19.12% plunged 20% after the German auto maker halted U.S. sales of specific diesel cars and issued an apology over allegations of cheating on U.S. emissions tests. The company could face billions of dollars in fines.
Other markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +1.11% rose 0.8%, as the market rebounded from the worst drop in two weeks. Drug makers and oil companies contributed to that rise. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite COMP, -1.36% closed up nearly 2%.
Soiurce: MarketWatch
