U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground In Early Trading

Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Monday, giving back ground after turning in a strong performance last week. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.

Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders look to cash in on recent gains going into the end of the year.

Partly reflecting renewed strength among tech stocks, the Dow and the S&P 500 ended last Thursday’s trading at record closing highs before edging slightly lower last Friday.

A pullback by big-name tech companies may weigh on the markets, as shares of Oracle (ORCL) are tumbling by more than 2 percent in pre-market trading.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and Micron Technology (MU) are also seeing notable pre-market weakness after posting strong gains last week.

Overall trading activity may remain somewhat subdued, however, as some traders are likely to remain away from their desks ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday on Thursday.

Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Realtors is due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of November.

Pending home sales are expected to increase by 0.8 percent in November after jumping by 1.9 percent in October.

After trending higher for several sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing slightly lower.

The S&P 500 reached a new record intraday high in early trading before closing down 2.11 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 6,929.94.

The Dow also edged down 20.19 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 48,710.97, while the Nasdaq slipped 20.21 points or 0.1 percent to 23,593.10.

Despite the choppy trading on the day, the major averages all posted strong gains for the week. While the S&P 500 shot up by 1.4 percent, the Dow and the Nasdaq both jumped by 1.2 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index crept slightly higher and South Korea’s Kospi surged by 2.2 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are surging $1.41 to $58.15 a barrel after plunging $1.61 to $56.74 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $49.90 to $4,552.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are tumbling $84.30 to $4,460.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.26 yen versus the 156.54 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1767 compared to last Friday’s $1.1771.

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