U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground After Last Friday's Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Monday, regaining ground following the significant weakness seen last Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after last Friday's pullback, which was led by a sell-off among tech stocks.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days.

The monthly jobs report for November along with a report on retail sales in October are due to be released on Tuesday, while a report on consumer price inflation in November is scheduled to be released on Thursday.

The data could impact the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last Wednesday.

While the Fed cut rates by another quarter point, as widely expected, officials' projections showed significant differences of opinion about further rate cuts.

On the U.S. economic front, the New York Federal Reserve released a report this morning showed an unexpected downturn by regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index plunged to a negative 3.9 in December from a positive 18.7 in November, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to fall to a positive 10.6.

The steep drop by general business conditions index came a month after it surged to its highest level in a year.

Following the mixed performance seen during Thursday's session, stocks showed a significant move to the downside during trading on Friday. The major averages all moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels of the session but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq plunged 398.69 points or 1.7 percent to 23,195.17 and the S&P 500 tumbled 73.59 points or 1.1 percent to 6,827.41.

The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, falling 245.96 points or 0.5 percent to 48,458.05 after hitting a new record intraday high in early trading.

For the week, the major averages turned in a mixed performance. While the Dow jumped by 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 slid by 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq dove by 1.6 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 1.0 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.16 to $57.28 a barrel after slipping $0.16 to $57.44 barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15.30 to $4,328.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $45.70 to $4,374 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.05 yen versus the 155.81 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1756 compared to last Friday's $1.1740.