U.S. Futures Higher in Quiet Trade; Tesla Slips on Germany Delay By Investing.com

By Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — U.S. stock futures were mostly higher in overnight trade on Monday, with investors buying into a dip that was caused by month-end profit-taking on Friday. 

Trading was set to be thinner than usual, with the U.K., China and various other markets all closed for the May Day holiday.

By 7 AM ET (1100 GMT), Dow Jones futures were up 207 points, or 0.6%, at 33,974 points. The S&P 500 futures contract was up 0.5% and the Nasdaq 100 futures contract was up a more modest 0.3%.

The events of the last week have reinforced impressions that stocks are an attractive place to be at a time when the economy is recovering increasingly clearly from the pandemic, with vigorous tailwinds from both fiscal and monetary policy. Those impressions will be tested on Wednesday and Friday with the latest reports on the pace of hiring, first from ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) and then from the government. Such reports will indicate just how rapid and substantial the economy’s progress is.

The day’s data calendar is relatively light, with the ISM’s manufacturing survey at 10 AM ET the highlight. ISM’s PMI hit a 36-year high of 64.7 in March and analysts point out that stocks typically tend to do badly when the ISM’s main index is above 60, because it triggers expectations of tighter monetary policy.

However, the current recovery is not a usual economic cycle-type story, and many argue against giving much weight to such arguments.

One of few stocks to deviate from the positive trend in premarket trading was Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), after the German trade publication Automobilwoche reported at the weekend that its proposed factory in Berlin may postpone mass production by some six months to the end of next January, due to delays in gaining key building permits and other issues. Tesla hasn’t confirmed the report.

Estee Lauder heads the roster of companies reporting earnings on Monday, with Loews, Williams, WEC Energy and Diamondback also all due

Commodity futures were largely rangebound in early trading, after data from the CFTC on Friday showing big gains in net long positioning in agricultural contracts and metals in particular. Gold Futures were up 0.6% at $1,778 a troy ounce, while U.S. crude futures were up 0.3% at $63.76 a barrel.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.2% at 91.09, while the euro was 0.3% higher at $1.2053.