WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the mixed performance seen last Friday, stocks are likely to move to the 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 241 points.
Tech stocks may help to lead the way higher after showing a significant move to the downside last week, dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq down by 4.1 percent.
Apple (AAPL) has been a key driver of the markets in recent sessions and is currently up by 1.8 percent in pre-market trading.
Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to news that AstraZeneca (AZN) has resumed a late-stage clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine.
Among individual stocks, shares of Immunomedics (IMMU) are soaring in pre-market trading after the cancer drug maker agreed to be acquired by Gilead Sciences (GILD) is a deal valued at $21 billion.
Oracle (ORCL) is also likely to see initial strength amid reports the business software giant has edged out rival Microsoft (MSFT) in negotiations for the U.S. operations of TikTok.
Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) are also seeing notable pre-market strength after the graphics chip maker announced a $40 billion acquisition of chip designer Arm Holdings.
Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday following the sharp pullback seen on Thursday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
Eventually, the major averages ended the session mixed. While the Nasdaq fell 66.05 points or 0.6 percent to 10,853.55, the S&P 500 inched up 1.78 points or 0.1 percent to 3,340.97 and the Dow climbed 131.06 points or 0.5 percent to 27,665.64.
The major averages all posted steep losses for the holiday-shortened week. The Nasdaq plunged by 4.1 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled by 2.5 percent and the Dow slumped by 1.7 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.33 to $37 a barrel after inching up $0.03 to $37.33 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $16.40 to $1,947.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $11.40 to $1,959.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 105.94 yen versus the 106.16 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1883 compared to last Friday's $1.1846.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX