U.S. Stocks May Move In Opposite Directions In Early Trading

Following the mixed performance seen last Friday, the major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open for the markets on Monday. While the Dow futures are down by 107 points, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up by 13.75 points.

Traders may cash in on recent strength in the markets after the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the previous session at new record closing highs.

The advance by the Dow and the S&P 500 and the drop by the Nasdaq came following the release of better than expected U.S. jobs data.

The closely watched report from the Labor Department added to economic optimism but also raised concerns about the outlook for monetary policy.

Later this week, reports on consumer and producer price inflation may also impact forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back its asset purchases.

Not long after the start of trading, the Labor Department is due to release the results of its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for the month of June. Economists expect job openings to rise to 9.270 million in June from 9.209 million in May.

After ending Thursday’s trading mostly higher line, the major U.S. indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. While the Nasdaq pulled back of Thursday’s record closing high, the Dow and S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq fell 59.36 points or 0.4 percent to 14,835.76, but the Dow climbed 144.26 points or 0.4 percent to 35,208.51 and the S&P 500 rose 7.42 points or 0.2 percent to 4,436.52.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved modestly lower on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $2.77 to $65.51 barrel after falling $0.81 to $68.28 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $45.80 to $1,763.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $20.10 to $1,743 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 110.07 yen versus the 110.25 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1767 compared to last Friday’s $1.1762.

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