WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a roughly flat open on Monday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster
performance seen during last Friday's session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some
key U.S. economic data later in the week.

On Friday, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal
income and spending in the month of May, which includes readings on inflation
said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The report, which is expected to show a modest slowdown by the annual rate of
consumer price growth, could have a significant impact on the outlook for
interest rates.

Reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders and pending
home sales may also attract attention in the coming days.

Following the mixed performance seen in Thursday's sessions, stocks showed a
lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major
averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Dow inched
up 15.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 39,150.33, the Nasdaq
dipped 32.23 points or 0.2 percent to 17,689.36 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.55
points or 0.2 percent to 5,464.62.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow jumped by 1.5 percent and the S&P 500
climbed by 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq was nearly unchanged.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess
recent activity in the markets, which saw the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reach new
record intraday highs on Thursday before turning lower.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, saw further upside over the course of
Thursday's trading, and today's uptick lifted the blue chip index to its best
closing level in a month.

Traders also kept an eye on shares of Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI darling has
recently been a key driver of the markets.

Nvidia tumbled by 3.5 percent on Tuesday and by slumped by another 3.2 percent
today after briefly surpassing Microsoft (MSFT) as the world's most valuable
public company on Tuesday.

On the U.S. economic front, The National Association of Realtors released a
report showing existing home sales in the U.S. decreased roughly in line with
economist estimates in the month of May.

The report said existing home sales slid 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 4.11
million in May after tumbling by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.14 million.
Economists had expected existing home sales to drop to a rate of 4.10 million.

The continued decline by existing home sales came as the median existing-home
price reached a record high $419,300 in May, up 5.8 percent from $396,500 a year
ago.

'Home prices reaching new highs are creating a wider divide between those owning
properties and those who wish to be first-time buyers,' said NAR Chief Economist
Lawrence Yun.

'The mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than double that of homes
purchased before 2020,' he added. 'Still, first-time buyers in the market
understand the long-term benefits of owning.'

A separate report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading
U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of May.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index decreased by 0.5 percent in
May following a 0.6 percent decline in April. Economist had expected the index
to dip by 0.3 percent.

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major
sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however, resulting in a
1.4 percent decline by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness among gold
stocks came amid a sharp pullback by the price of the precious metal.

Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected
by the 1.3 loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

On the other hand, networking stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving
the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.2 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are inching up $0.18 to $80.91 a barrel after falling $0.56 to
$80.73 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after plunging $37.80 to $2,331.20 an
ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging up $6.40 to $2,337.60 an
ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.51 yen versus the
159.80 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the
euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0728 compared to last Friday's $1.0693.

Asia

Asian stocks retreated on Monday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data and
comments from Fed officials for additional clues on the outlook for interest
rates.

Upcoming French and U.K. elections and Thursday's clash between U.S. Democratic
President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump also remained
on investors' radar.

Gold edged up on softer bond yields, while oil was marginally lower, extending
declines from Friday on concerns of higher-for-longer interest rates.

China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.2 percent to 2,963.10 and the yuan
hit a seven-month low after data showed China's fiscal revenue dropped 2.8
percent in the first five months of 2024 compared to the previous year.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished marginally lower at 18,027.71 as China and
the European Union agreed to start talks on the increased tariffs on electric
vehicles.

Japanese markets bucked the weak trend to end higher as the Bank of Japan's
summary of opinions from its June 13-14 policy meeting showed board members
debated the need for a timely rate hike.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.5 percent to 38,804.65, while the broader Topix
Index settled 0.6 percent higher at 2,740.19.

A weaker yen bolstered shares of export-related companies after a top currency
official said authorities are ready to intervene to support the currency
24-hours a day, if needed. Automakers Mazda Motor, Honda Motor and Toyota rose
between 1.2 percent and 2.5 percent.

Seoul stocks ended notably lower, with the Kospi falling 0.7 percent to
2,764.73.

Australian markets closed lower due to losses among commodity stocks. Markets
also awaited the release of the Australian May consumer price data on Wednesday
for clues to the monetary policy path ahead.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.8 percent to 7,733.70, while the broader
All Ordinaries Index ended down 0.8 percent at 7,975.10.

Star Entertainment shares slumped 4.1 percent after the casino operator lowered
its expectations for full-year earnings and revenue.

Premier Investments surged 6.9 percent after Myer Holdings offered to acquire
its apparel business through an all-scrip merger. Shares of the latter soared
20.2 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index slid 0.5 percent to
11,627.86 despite the May trade surplus exceeding expectations.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher on Monday ahead of this week's U.S.
presidential debate and France's snap parliamentary election.

The dollar slipped and bond yields eased as investors await key U.S. inflation
data and comments from Federal Reserve officials this week for clarity on the
Fed's rate path.

While the French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index
is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In corporate news, Belgian pharmaceutical company argenx has soared after
receiving approval from the U.S. health regulator for Vyvgart Hytrulo, a
treatment for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Prudential shares have also moved sharply higher in London after the insurer
launched a $2 billion share buyback program.

Britvic has also spiked as Carlsberg AS secured the agreement of PepsiCo Inc for
a potential £3.1 billion ($3.9 billion) takeover of the British soft drinks
manufacturer.

GSK has also shown a notable move to the upside after Japan approve its Omjjara
(momelotinib) for the treatment of myelofibrosis.

Safran has also risen after it entered into exclusive discussions to acquire 100
percent of Preligens for an enterprise value of 220 million euros.

Valneva SE has also jumped after Health Canada approved IXCHIQ, the company's
single-dose vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya
virus in individuals 18 years of age and older.

Meanwhile, Eurofins Scientific has plummeted after research firm Muddy Waters
recommended a 'short' position on the stock.

Online retailer Zalando has also plunged after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on
the stock to 'equal weight' from 'overweight.'

U.S. Economic News

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly is scheduled to speak on
monetary policy and the economy before an event in partnership with the
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California and the San Francisco Press Club
at 2 pm ET.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX