By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were higher in early APAC deals on Monday after major benchmark indices closed at fresh record valuations during Friday’s session after inflation data rose x for the month to the highest since 1982, but remaining in line with analyst expectations and easing fears of a quicker tapering of asset purchases ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting this week.
During Friday’s session, The blue-chip Dow added 216.3 points or 0.6% to 35971, adding 4% on the week for its best weekly performance since March. The S&P 500 was up 44.57 points or 0.95% to 4712.01, lifting 3.8% for the week, while NASDAQ Composite gained 113.23 points or 0.73% to 15630.6 3.8% and 3.6% as both indices posted their best weekly performance since early February.
Dow Jones 30 Futures added 0.15%, S&P 500 Futures lifted 0.15% and Nasdaq 100 Futures were up 0.11%.
Among stocks, electric vehicle makers lifted on Friday, with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) up 1.32% and Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) adding 3.12%.
Major tech names were mixed, with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) down 1.12%, 1.94% respectively, while Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 2.8%, 0.25% and 2.83% respectively.
On the bond markets, United States 10-Year yields were at 1.487%.
Ahead in the week, investors will be squarely focused on the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, with policymakers likely to announce further details around the unwinding of pandemic-era stimulus plans, potentially signaling a speedier and larger tightening of monetary settings. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as well as a parade of Fed speakers all recently suggested the central bank could end the $US120 billion monthly bond purchase program sooner than the current timeline of June 2022.