WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a modestly higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to see further upside
following the rally to close out the previous week.

Stocks may continue to benefit from the upward momentum seen last week, which
came amid a positive reaction to upbeat tech earnings.

Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the
Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the
accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press
conference may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

Recent economic data has tamped down expectations of a near-term rate cut, with
the central bank now seen as likely to leave rates unchanged until at least
September.

Traders may also stick to the sidelines ahead of the release of an avalanche of
earnings news this week along with the Labor Department's closely watched
monthly jobs report.

Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Friday, largely offsetting the
weakness seen during Thursday's session. The major averages all moved to the
upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels late in the day but
remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq surged 316.14 points or 2.0 percent to
15,927.90, the S&P 500 jumped 51.54 points or 1.0 percent to 5,099.96 and the
Dow climbed 153.86 points or 0.4 percent to 38,239.66.

For the week, the Nasdaq spiked by 4.2 percent, the S&P 500 shot up by 2.7
percent and the Dow advanced by 0.7 percent.

The rally on Wall Street came amid a positive reaction to some of the latest
earnings news from big-name tech companies.

Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) soared by 10.2 percent after the Google parent
reported better than expected first quarter results and authorized its
first-ever dividend as well as a $70 billion stock buyback.

Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) also jumped by 1.8 percent after reporting
fiscal third quarter results that exceeded expectations.

Shares of Snap (SNAP) skyrocketed by 27.6 percent after the SnapChat parent
reported first quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and
bottom lines.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) plunged by 9.2 percent after the
semiconductor giant reported first quarter earnings that beat estimates but
provided disappointing guidance.

Traders also seemingly reacted positively to closely watched readings on
inflation released by the Commerce Department showing consumer prices in the
U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in
March, matching the increase seen in February as well as economist estimates.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also climbed by 0.3
percent for the second straight month, in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated
to 2.7 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February. Economists had expected
the pace of growth to tick up to 2.6 percent.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices in March came in unchanged
from February at 2.8 percent, while economists had expected the pace of growth
to slow to 2.6 percent.

The readings on inflation, which are said to be preferred by the Federal
Reserve, were included in the Commerce Department's report on personal income
and spending in the month of March.

'Given the elevated levels of inflation - and this is the new normal for 2024 -
the market is going to need to get over hopes for Fed rate cuts,' said Chris
Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.

'We're still optimistic on the market, however, as we believe that rate cuts
aren't necessary for the bull market to continue,' he added. 'Instead, continued
economic expansion and growth in corporate profits - which are already seeing
from the largest companies in the market - are what will propel stock prices to
new highs.'

Treasury yields moved lower following the release of the report, which may have
helped mitigate any negative response to the data.

Semiconductor stocks saw substantial strength on the day despite the slump by
Intel, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.6 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among software stocks following
Microsoft's upbeat results, resulting in a 1.5 percent gain by the Dow Jones
U.S. Software Index.

Networking stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the NYSE
Arca Networking Index up by 1.5 percent.

Retail, computer hardware and brokerage stocks also showed notable moves to the
upside, while utilities stocks bucked the uptrend.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.60 to $83.25 a barrel after rising $0.28 to
$83.85 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after inching up $4.70 to $2,347.20 an
ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $0.30 to $2,346.90
an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.40 yen versus the
158.33 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the
euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0716 compared to last Friday's $1.0693.

Asia

Asian stocks rose in thin trading on Monday, with Japanese markets closed for a
holiday. Traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on
Wednesday after the central bank's preferred inflation gauge largely met
expectations.

No change in interest rates is expected, but the post-meeting statement as well
as Chair Jerome Powell's press conference may give hints about interest rate
moves to come.

The yen surged after briefly hitting 160 against the dollar in early Asian
trading on speculation about whether authorities will intervene to support the
Japanese currency.

Gold saw modest losses and oil prices were down nearly 1 percent as U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stepped up efforts to secure a truce in Gaza
in meetings in the Middle East.

On Friday, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda played down the impact of the weak
yen on fueling inflation.

Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets posted strong gains even as a fall in
March industrial profits raised doubts about China's economic recovery.

China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.8 percent to 3,113.04, while Hong
Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 percent to 17,746.91.

Property developers paced the gainers on hopes that policymakers will unveil
more stimulus measures this week.

Seoul stocks rallied, with the Kospi average jumping 1.2 percent to 2,687.44 on
large-cap gains. Chemicals producer LG Chem surged 5.9 percent and leading
pharmaceutical manufacturer Celltrion added 4 percent.

Australian markets ended notably higher, led by banks and healthcare stocks. The
benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.8 percent to 7,637.40, marking its best
single-day gain since April 22. The broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.9
percent higher at 7,906.60.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index climbed 0.9
percent to 11,916.24.

Europe

European stocks have eked out modest gains on Monday as investors await the
Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the week.

While the German DAX Index is nearly unchanged, the French CAC 40 Index is up by
0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In corporate news, Spain's BBVA declined 1.4 percent despite beating estimates
in the first quarter and raising its profit guidance for 2024.

Mining giant Anglo American rose 1.3 percent in London. The company's board has
unanimously rejected a US$39Bn takeover bid from Australia-based BHP, saying the
offer 'significantly undervalues' the company and its future prospects and was
'highly unattractive' for Anglo American's shareholders.

Oxford Biomedica shares jumped 6.4 percent. The cell and gene therapy contract
development and manufacturing organization reported stability in its core
business and reiterated its near-term and medium-term financial guidance.

Drug major AstraZeneca added 1.3 percent after announcing progress with two
breast cancer treatments.

Vivendi shares fell about 1 percent in Paris. The mass-media holding company
reported a surge in revenue for the first quarter, supported by the
consolidation of Lagardere as well as revenue growth at Canal+ Group and Havas.

Atos SE surged almost 16 percent. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on
Sunday said he had moved to acquire the 'sovereign activities' of the debt-laden
tech giant Atos and prevent foreign ownership of them.

Deutsche Bank shares slumped 6.1 percent. The German lender has provided updates
on the ongoing litigation concerning its acquisition of Postbank, revealing that
a legal provision will affect its second-quarter and full-year profitability as
well as capital ratios.

The total estimated amount of all claims, inclusive of accumulated interest,
stands at about 1.3 billion euros.

U.S. Economic Reports

No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.



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