(RTTNews) - Following the rally seen last week, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran following President Donald Trump's latest threats.
In an expletive-laden Truth Social post Easter Sunday morning, Trump once again threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened by 8 pm ET on Tuesday.
Crude oil prices initially extended last Thursday's spike in reaction to Trump's comments but have given back ground since then amid reports of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran about a potential ceasefire.
A report from Axios citing four U.S., Israeli and regional sources said the U.S., Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war.
Reuters also reported that the U.S. and Iran are weighing ?the framework of a plan to end the five-week-old conflict but noted Tehran has pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A source aware of the proposals told Reuters the Pakistani-brokered plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations on a broader peace settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days.
However, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran won't reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor would it accept deadlines or pressure to reach a deal. ?
Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of March.
The ISM's services PMI is expected to fall to 54.7 in March from 56.1 in February, but a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.
Stocks recovered from a sharp pullback early in the session on Thursday but showed a lack of direction over the remainder of the trading day. The major averages spent much of the day lingering near the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Dow edged down 61.07 points or 0.1 percent to 46,504.67, the S&P 500 crept up 7.37 points or 0.1 percent to 6,582.69 and the Nasdaq rose 38.23 points or 0.2 percent to 21,879.18.
Early in the session, the Nasdaq tumbled by as much as 2.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow slumped by as much as 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Reflecting the rally seen over the two previous sessions, the major averages posted strong gains for the holiday-shortened week. The Nasdaq spiked by 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 surged by 3.4 percent and the Dow jumped by 3 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Monday, with most markets closed for holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets were closed on Monday in celebration of Easter Monday.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.71 to $110.83 a barrel after skyrocketing $11.42 to $111.54 a barrel last Thursday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $133.40 to $4,679.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $9.60 to $4,689.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.49 yen versus the 159.56 yen it fetched on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1549 compared to last Friday's $1.1515.
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