WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading
on Tuesday following the strong upward move seen over the past several sessions.
The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the
markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may take a breather on the heels of the advance seen during Monday's
session, which extended the rally seen to close out the previous week.

The surge has lifted the major averages to their best levels in almost a month
amid renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Relatively dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell combined
with weaker-than-expected job growth in April have largely eliminated
short-lived concerns the Fed might actually consider raising rates.

Investors have instead grown increasingly confident about a rate cut in the
coming months, with the chances rates will be lower by September now at 83.5
percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Among individual stocks, shares of Disney (DIS) are seeing significant
pre-market weakness even though the entertainment giant reported better than
expected fiscal third quarter earnings.

Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) may also come under pressure after the
data analytics company provided disappointing full-year revenue guidance.

On the other hand, shares of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) are moving sharply higher
in pre-market trading after the telehealth company reported better than expected
first quarter results and provided upbeat second quarter revenue guidance.

Apparel retailer Gap (GPS) is also likely to see initial strength after Citi
upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Monday, extending
the rally seen to close out the previous week. With the continued advance, the
major averages reached their best closing levels in almost a month.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session going into the
close of trading, The Nasdaq surged 192.92 points or 1.2 percent to 16,349.25,
the S&P 500 jumped 52.95 points or 1.0 percent to 5,180.74 and the Dow climbed
176.59 points or 0.5 percent to 38,862.27.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.6 percent
and South Korea's Kospi surged by 2.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite
Index crept up by 0.2 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has shot up by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by
0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.30 to $78.18 a barrel
after rising $0.37 to $78.48 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after jumping $22.60
to $2,331.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down
$7.80 to $2,323.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.43 yen compared to the
153.92 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0775 compared to yesterday's $1.0769.



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