(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen in the previous session, stocks may give back some ground in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 72 points.
Profit taking may contribute to initial weakness on Wall Street as some traders look to cash in on recent strength in the markets.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq has closed higher for four consecutive sessions and ended the previous session at a new record closing high. The S&P 500 also finished Monday's trading at its best closing level since February.
Uncertainty about the prospects for a new coronavirus relief bill may also weigh on the markets, as negotiators struggle to reach an agreement even as new cases continue to spike and enhanced unemployment benefits expired last week.
Democrats and Trump administration officials said they made progress towards a deal during a meeting on Monday, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noted the two sides "still have our differences."
The amount of the federal unemployment benefit remains a key sticking point, as Republicans want to slash the benefit to $200 per week and Democrats want to keep the benefit at $600 per week.
A disagreement over funding for state and local governments is also holding up a deal, with President Donald Trump accusing Democrats of seeking to bail out poorly run Democratic-run states and cities.
Not long after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of June. Factory orders are expected to jump by 5.0 percent in June after spiking by 8.0 percent in May.
Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, with strength among tech stocks once again contributing to an advance on Wall Street. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped to a new record closing high, while the S&P 500 ended the session at its best closing level in well over five months.
The major averages all closed firmly in positive territory, although the Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts. While the Nasdaq surged up 157.52 points or 1.5 percent to 10,902.80, the Dow advanced 236.08 or 0.9 percent to 26,664.40 and the S&P 500 climbed 23.49 points or 0.7 percent to 3,294.61.
In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index spiked by 2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has fallen by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.72 to $40.29 a barrel after climbing $0.74 to $41.01 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.40 to $1,986.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $8.10 to $1,994.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 106.116 yen compared to the 105.95 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1730 compared to yesterday's $1.762.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
