U.S. Stocks May Extend Last Friday's Rebound In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the upside to in early trading on Monday, extending the notable rebound seen during last Friday's session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.7 percent.

Traders may continue to look to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels, as the jump seen in the previous session only partly offset the steep drop seen earlier in the week.

Concerns about valuations and the outlook for interest rates weighed on the markets for much of last week, dragging the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in over two months last Thursday.

Positive sentiment may also be generated amid signs of progress toward an agreement to end the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "tremendous progress" had been made in talks with Ukrainian officials, calling the sticking points on the Trump administration's peace proposal "not insurmountable."

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders await the release of long-delayed U.S. economic data in the coming days.

Traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on retail sales, producer prices and durable goods orders in the month of September.

While the data is more backward looking than preferred, the reports could still impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting in December.

Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Friday but moved notably higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside following the substantial downturn seen during Thursday's session.

The major averages pulled back well off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained firmly positive. The Dow surged 493.15 points or 1.1 percent to 46,245.41, the Nasdaq advanced 195.03 points or 0.9 percent to 22,273.08 and the S&P 500 jumped 64.23 points or 1.0 percent to 6,602.99.

Despite the rebound on the day, the major averages all posted steep losses for the week. The Nasdaq plunged by 2.7 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled by 2.0 percent and the Dow slumped by 1.9 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.0 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped by 1.3 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.02 to $58.08 a barrel after plunging $0.94 to $58.06 barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $19.50 to $4,079.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging up $3.10 to $4,082.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.92 yen versus the 156.39 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1538 compared to last Friday's $1.1511.