US pre-open: Futures point to modest gains following banner week

(Sharecast News) - US stocks were being called to open slightly firmer ahead of the bell on Monday as major indices come off their best week so far this year. As of 1220 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.06%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.18% and 0.25% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 222.24 points higher on Friday despite the Department of Labor revealing that hiring had slowed to a pace of 150,000 in October, short of consensus estimates for a reading of 170,000. Average hourly earnings growth also came in below forecasts at 0.2% month-on-month, while readings for the prior two months were revised down by a combined 101,000.

Wall Street trading has got off to a positive start in November, with the Dow ending last week 5.07% higher for its biggest weekly gain since October 2022, while the S&P advanced 5.85% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 6.6% for both indices' best week since November 2022.

The week ahead will be light on both economic data and company earnings, with comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell following the central bank's interest rate decision last week and earnings from Walt Disney, Wynn and MGM Resorts set to be the week's primary focus.

In the corporate space, Tupperware Brands and BioNTech will report earnings before the opening bell on Monday, while Goodyear Tire & Rubber was slated to publish its latest quarterly numbers after the close of trading.

On the macro front, no major data points were scheduled for release on Monday but Federal Reserve board governor Lisa Cook will deliver a speech at 1600 GMT.

In addition to Powell, New York president John Williams, Atlanta president Raphael Bostic, Richmond president Thomas Barkin and Dallas president Lorie Logan will all make public remarks throughout the course of the week.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com