U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Monday, August 8. The Dow Futures are at 18492.0 for a gain of 38.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2181.25 for a gain of 4.50 points. The Nasdaq Futures are higher at 4796.25 for a gain of 13.25 points. The Russell Futures are higher at 1230.5 for a gain of 2.10 points.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere Japan’s Nikkei 225 is higher at 16650.57 for a gain of 396.12 points or 2.44 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 22494.76 for a gain of 348.67 points or 1.57 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is at 3004.28 for a gain of 27.58 points or 0.93 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is at 28182.57 for a gain of 104.22 points or 0.37 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 6801.83 for a gain of 8.36 points or 0.12 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 10460.98 for a gain of 93.77 points or 0.90 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4432.59 for a gain of 22.04 points or 0.50 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is at 342.23 for a gain of 0.85 points or 0.25 percent.
Monday’s Factors and Events
On Monday there are few reports on the economic calendar. The day’s economic releases will include the Labor Market Conditions Index and the TD Ameritrade IMX. On Monday, the Treasury will also be auctioning 3-month bills and 6-month bills.
The outlook for the market is positive on Monday with futures pointing higher. Investors are positively factoring in a rate hike which is likely to come later this year after the U.S. labor market added 255,000 jobs in July.
In pre-market trading on Monday, the following stocks are trading actively: Chesapeake Energy, Boeing, Perrigo Company, Biogen, Merck, Newmont Mining, Leucadia National, eBay Inc. and Twenty-First Century Fox.
Earnings season is still going strong with approximately 175 companies reporting earnings on Monday. Still left to report in the Dow Jones Industrial Average is Disney, Home Depot, Cisco and Wal-Mart.
As stocks gain on Monday, investors will be watching for new highs from the main indexes. Wal-Mart will be in focus on Monday as the company could potentially announce a deal with Jet.com and the company will also be reporting its second quarter earnings next week.
Friday’s Activity
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18543.53 for a gain of 191.48 points or 1.04 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2182.87 for a gain of 18.62 points or 0.86 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5221.12 for a gain of 54.87 points or 1.06 percent.
Other notable index closes from Friday included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index, higher at 1231.30 for a gain of 17.54 points or 1.45 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index, higher at 746.67 for a gain of 9.81 points or 1.33 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1562.55 for a gain of 15.58 points or 1.01 percent; the S&P 100 Index closing at 966.92 for a gain of 7.98 points or 0.83 percent; the Russell 3000 Index closing at 1289.60 for a gain of 11.23 points or 0.88 percent; the Russell 1000 Index closing at 1208.93 for a gain of 9.98 points or 0.83 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 620.60 for a gain of 2.57 points or 0.42 percent.
