WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the long, holiday weekend, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 15 points.
Stocks may benefit from the recent upward momentum on Wall Street, which has lifted the S&P 500 to new record highs.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders are likely to be reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of a monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank and the monthly U.S. jobs report later in the week.
Not long after the open, trading could be impacted by the release of the Institute for Supply Management's report on activity in the manufacturing sector in the month of August.
Economists expect the ISM's manufacturing index to edge down to 56.8 in August after climbing to 57.1 in July, although a reading above 50 would indicate continued growth in the sector.
The Commerce Department is also scheduled to release its report on construction spending in the month of July, although the data does not typically have much impact on the markets.
Construction spending is expected to increase by about 1.0 percent in July after unexpectedly tumbling by 1.8 percent in June.
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