(RTTNews) - After ending last Friday's choppy session mostly higher, stocks may see further upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.
Optimism about the AI trade may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street after Nvidia (NVDA) unveiled a new superchip RTX Spark in collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT) that the company said reinvents Windows PCs for the era of personal AI agents.
"The PC is being reinvented," said NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang. "For forty years, you launched apps. Click. Type. With RTX Spark and Microsoft Windows, you ask — and the PC does the work."
Shares of Nvidia are jumping by 2.4 percent in pre-market trading, while shares of Microsoft are surging by 3.8 percent. PC makers Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ) are also seeing significant pre-market strength.
Buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East continues to hang over the markets.
Crude oil prices have surged after U.S. Central Command said it conducted "self-defense strikes" on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones in Iran over the weekend.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said it targeted an airbase allegedly used in a U.S. attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island in southern Hormozgan province.
President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social early this morning that "Iran really wants to make a deal" but urged patience amid ongoing negotiations.
"Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!" Trump said.
Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of May.
The ISM's manufacturing PMI is expected to inch up to 53.1 in May from 52.7 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.
Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day mostly higher. The Dow led the way higher, although all three major averages ended the day at new record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 363.49 points or 0.7 percent to 51,032.46, while the Nasdaq increased 55.15 points or 0.2 percent to 26,972.62 and the S&P 500 rose 16.43 points or 0.2 percent to 7,580.06.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.4 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.9 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 climbed by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.3 percent.
The major European markets are also mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are surging $2.43 to $89.79 a barrel after tumbling $1.54 to $87.36 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $60.60 to $4,593 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $62 to $4,531 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.43 yen versus the 159.26 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1648 compared to last Friday's $1.1659.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
