WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the rally seen last Friday, stocks are likely to see some further upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 178 points.
The markets may benefit from optimism about a U.S.-China trade agreement, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressing optimism phase one of a trade deal could be signed this month.
'We're in good shape, we're making good progress, and there's no natural reason why it couldn't be,' Ross said in an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday.
Ross called the phase one agreement 'particularly complicated' and acknowledged it is 'always possible' the signing of the deal could 'slip a little bit.'
In the interview, Ross also said licenses for U.S. firms to sell components to China's Huawei Technologies would be coming 'very shortly.'
The comments from Ross come after a report from China's Xinhua News Agency last Friday said U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have 'reached consensus on principles.'
President Donald Trump has also continued to express optimism about a trade deal, recently suggesting phase one of an agreement could be signed somewhere in the U.S. as soon as this month.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of September. Factory orders are expected to drop by 0.5 percent.
Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Friday as traders reacted to much better than expected U.S. jobs data. With the strong upward moves, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow surged up 301.13 points or 1.1 percent to 27,347.36, the Nasdaq soared 94.04 points or 1.1 percent to 8,386.40 and the S&P 500 jumped 29.35 points or 1 percent to 3,066.91.
For the week, the Dow shot up by 1.4 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 skyrocketed by 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has surged up by 1.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 1.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.56 to $56.76 a barrel after soaring $2.02 to $56.20 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,512.30, up $0.90 from the previous session's close of $1,511.40. On Friday, gold fell $3.40.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 108.41 yen compared to the 108.19 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1158 compared to last Friday's $1.1166.
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