(RTTNews) - With traders returning to their desks following the long holiday weekend, stocks are likely to move to the downside in early trading on Monday. 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.
A continued increase in Treasury yields may weigh on Wall Street, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note once again reaching its highest levels in well over three years.
Yields have shown a substantial upward move over the past several weeks amid indications the Federal Reserve plans to aggressively raise interest rates in an effort to combat elevated inflation.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the slew of earnings news due to be release this week.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), IBM Corp. (IBM), Netflix (NFLX), Procter & Gamble (PG), Tesla (TSLA), American Express (AXP) and Verizon (VZ) are among the big-name companies due to report their quarterly results in the coming days.
Financial giant Bank of America (BAC) released its first quarter results before the start of today's trading, reporting earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst estimates.
Shortly after the start of trading, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of April. The housing market index is expected to edge down to 77 in April from 79 in March.
Stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, largely offsetting the rebound seen on Wednesday. With the pullback on the day, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest closing levels in a month.
The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, although the Dow posted a relatively modest loss, dipping 113.36 points or 0.3 percent to 34,451.23. The Nasdaq plunged 292.51 points or 2.1 percent to 13,351.08, and the S&P 500 slumped 54.00 points or 1.2 percent to 4,392.59.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow slid by 0.8 percent, while the Nasdaq plummeted by 2.6 percent and the S&P 500 tumbled by 2.1 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets remain closed today for Easter Monday.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.54 to $107.49 a barrel after surging $2.70 to $106.95 a barrel last Thursday. Meanwhile, after falling $9.80 to $1,974.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $25.60 to $2,000.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 126.51 yen versus the 126.46 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0807 compared to last Thursday's $1.0810.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
