© Reuters
By Peter Nurse Investing.com — U.S. stocks are set to open higher on Monday as investors look to start the new week on a more positive note in search of bargains after weeks of relentless selling.
As of 7 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), the contract was up 330 points, or 1.1%, trading 46 points, or 1.2%, higher and climbing 120 points, or 1%.
Wall Street’s major stock indices posted another losing week last week, under pressure from weak quarterly results from a number of major retailers, including Target (NYSE:) and Walmart (NYSE:), as rising prices for basic necessities like food and fuel meant consumers were cutting back on discretionary spending.
The blue chips recorded their eighth consecutive losing streak, the longest such streak since 1923, while the wide bases and heavy techs recorded their seventh consecutive negative weeks.
The retail sector’s quarterly earnings deluge continues this week, with reports expected from Costco (NASDAQ:), Dollar General (NYSE:), Nordstrom (NYSE:), Macy’s (NYSE:) and best buy (NYSE:) as the week progresses. Monday is Focus on video communications (NASDAQ:) which will be in the spotlight.
Bank of America (NYSE:) announced on Monday that it was raising its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $22, a step closer to its promise to pay workers $25 an hour by 2025.
The economic data slate is largely blank on Monday, but the week contains the release of the Fed’s main inflation indicator, Friday.
There is also a report on , as well as data on , revised figures for the first quarter , as well as data on .
However, the focus will be on Wednesday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, with investors seeking comments from central bank policymakers on containing inflationary pressures without tipping the economy into recession.
The Fed has already hiked 75 basis points since March and markets are pricing in rate hikes of 50 basis points in June and July.
Elsewhere, the World Economic Forum kicked off in Davos after a two-year hiatus imposed by the pandemic, while US President Joe Biden erred in saying the US military would step in to defend Taiwan if attacked by the Mainland China.
Oil prices edged higher on Monday, boosted by expectations of renewed demand as Shanghai prepares to reopen in early June after a two-month lockdown and ahead of the start of the main U.S. driving season.
Lockdowns in China, and in the commercial center of Shanghai, in particular, to combat a prolonged COVID epidemic have hammered industrial production and are thus fueling demand for the world’s largest importer of rough.
Additionally, fuel demand in the United States is expected to pick up soon, with the peak driving season in the United States traditionally beginning on Memorial Day weekend in late May and ending on Labor Day in September.
As of 7 a.m. ET, futures were trading up 1.3% at $111.72 a barrel, while the contract was up 1.4% at $111.48.
Additionally, it was up 0.9% at $1,859.26 an ounce, while trading up 1.1% at 1.0674.
