(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday, building on a late rally last week, as investors bought into technology stocks on continued optimism around AI and awaited crucial economic data that could set the tone for the U.S. monetary policy path.
At 6:16 a.m. ET (1116 GMT), S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.51%, Nasdaq 100 e-minis added 0.82% and Dow e-minis climbed 0.10%.
Tech stocks led gains again, with chipmakers getting a lift from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s plan to invest $80 billion to develop AI-enabled data centers, as well as Foxconn (SS:601138)'s forecast-beating fourth-quarter revenue.
Shares of Nvidia rose 2% in premarket trading, while those in Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) rose between 1.3% and 3.4%.
U.S. stocks rebounded sharply on Friday after a string of losses in December and the first few sessions of the new year when concerns about high valuations, rising Treasury yields and thin liquidity saw traders pullback after a strong run in 2024.
In a week packed with economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve officials, investors will look for clues on the pace of monetary policy easing this year.
Focus will be on Friday's monthly payrolls data, which is expected to show U.S. job growth slowed in December compared with the previous month, while unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take the oath of office on Jan. 20. While Trump's proposals - which include cutting corporate taxes, easing regulations and imposing tariffs - could boost corporate profits and energize the economy, they also run the risk of placing upward pressure on inflation.
Among other stocks, Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) rose about 5% after Benchmark upgraded the ride-hailing firm's stock to "buy" from "hold."