By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures ticked higher in early APAC trade on Monday, after major benchmark indices fell on Friday’s session amid a seasonally weak month as investors look ahead to a key meeting at the Federal Reserve later in the week.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 166.44 points or 0.43%, to 34584.89. The S&P 500 fell 40.78 points or 0.91% to 4432.98 and the NASDAQ Composite lost 137.96 points or 0.91% to close at 15,043.97. For the week, the Dow lost 0.24%, the S&P 500 fell 0.95% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.12%.
Investors are now focusing on the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated September meeting on Tuesday, with Chair Jerome Powell to hold a press conference Wednesday at the conclusion of the meeting. Powell has noted that the proposed taper may begin by the end of this year, but investors remain cautious after recent mixed economic data and persisting coronavirus concerns.
Market participants will also be looking at Thursday’s report on initial jobless claims amid concerns over the hit to the economic recovery in the current quarter from the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, while data on housing starts and building permits data are due out on Tuesday, followed by figures on existing home sales and data on new home sales later in the week.
On the bond markets, US-10 year Treasury yields were near 9-week highs of 1.364%.