FX.co ★ Futures Pointing To Mixed Open On Wall Street

Following the mixed outcomes observed last week, the major U.S. stock indexes might present diverse directions in the initial hours of trading this Monday.

Current indicators suggest the markets will open with fluctuations. Dow futures are showing a modest increase of 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures are down by 0.2%.

A notable decline in Nvidia (NVDA) shares could be contributing to Nasdaq's downward trend, as the AI industry leader slumped by 2.1% in pre-market trading. This drop follows reports of a Chinese regulatory investigation into possible breaches of antimonopoly laws by the chipmaker.

Trading activity overall might be relatively quiet, as investors anticipate important inflation data releases scheduled for later this week.

Reports on consumer and producer price inflation, due out Wednesday and Thursday respectively, might influence interest rate forecasts.

Although the Federal Reserve is broadly expected to decrease rates by an additional 25 basis points next week, there remains some ambiguity regarding further rate cuts at the start of next year.

On Friday, major U.S. stock indexes initially advanced but ended with mixed results. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 maintained positive momentum, achieving new record-high closures, while the Dow retreated into the red.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq closed near its peak for the day, climbing 159.05 points or 0.8% to 19,859.77. The S&P 500 increased by 15.16 points or 0.3% to 6,090.27, whereas the Dow dipped by 123.19 points or 0.3% to 44,642.52.

For the first week of December, major averages showed varied performances. The Dow decreased by 0.6%, while the S&P 500 rose by 1.0%, and the Nasdaq surged by 3.3%.

In the Asia-Pacific markets on Monday, results were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index soared by 2.8%, however, South Korea's Kospi dropped substantially by 2.8%.

In contrast, European stock markets primarily experienced gains today. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index increased by 0.6%, and the French CAC 40 Index grew by 0.5%, though Germany's DAX Index remains slightly below the previous level.

Meanwhile, in commodities, crude oil futures rose by $0.93 to $68.13 a barrel after declining by $1.10 to $67.20 a barrel last Friday. Gold futures experienced a gain, climbing $20.40 to $2,680 an ounce following a previous rise of $11.20 to $2,659.60 an ounce.

In the currency exchange realm, the U.S. dollar is valued at 150.78 yen, up from 150.03 yen at Friday's New York session close. Against the euro, the dollar is trading slightly higher, at $1.0571 compared to $1.0568 last Friday.