WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Monday, giving back ground following recent strength. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.
Traders may look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which has seen the major averages close higher for six consecutive weeks.
The advance has lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs, while the Nasdaq is also closing in on the record highs the tech-heavy index set in July.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of a slew of corporate earnings news from big-name companies.
3M (MMM), General Motors (GM), Verizon (VZ), Boeing (BA), Coca-Cola (KO), IBM Corp. (IBM), Tesla (TSLA) and UPS (UPS) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.
Reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales are also likely to attract attention in the coming days along with the Federal Reserve' Beige Book.
Not long after the start of trading, The Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of September. The leading economic index is expected to decrease by 0.3 percent in September after slipping by 0.2 percent in August.
After ending Thursday's session little changed, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge, while the Dow ended the day modestly higher at a new record closing high.
The Nasdaq climbed 115.94 points or 0.6 percent to 18,489.55 and the S&P 500 rose 23.20 points or 0.4 percent to a new record closing high of 5,864.67. The narrower Dow recovered from an initial pullback to end the day up by 36.86 points or 0.1 percent at 43,275.91.
For the week, the Dow jumped by 1.0 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced by 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has slipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.21 to $70.43 a barrel after tumbling $1.45 to $69.22 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $22.50 to $2,730 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are advancing $22.30 to $2,752.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.81 yen versus the 149.53 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0856 compared to last Friday's $1.0867.
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