U.S. stock indexes were set to open little changed on Monday, coming off last week’s strong gains, as investors head into Thanksgiving week.
Globally, stocks were hit as commodities prices tumbled on worries about oversupply and tepid demand, with copper and metal prices languishing at multi-year lows. [MET/L]
Crude oil prices pared back some losses after Saudi Arabia agreed to cooperate with other producers to stabilize prices. [O/R]
The dollar hit a seven-month high on Monday on expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
However, last week investors mostly looked past the rate hike possibility and pushed up U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 recorded its best weekly performance in almost a year and the Dow Jones industrial average turned positive for the year.
“We’re coming off a very strong performance, a market that has shown tremendous resilience and a strong propensity of ‘coming back’,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
“Chances are, the bulk of the action will take place Monday and Tuesday and then they turn their machines off,” said Bakhos, adding volumes were likely to be “very quiet” this week.
At 8:33 a.m. ET (1333 GMT), Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 1 points, or 0.01 percent, with 21,154 contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 0.5 points, or 0.02 percent, with 127,587 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were up 1.25 points, or 0.03 percent, on volume of 19,579 contracts.
Pfizer’s shares (PFE.N) fell 2.4 percent to $31.41 premarket, after the company said it would buy Allergan (AGN.N) in a deal valued at about $160 billion, the biggest ever in the healthcare sector. Allergan fell 1.2 percent to $308.70.
Gamestop (GME.N) tumbled 18 percent to $32.15 after the video game retailer reported lower quarterly sales and profit.
Mallinckrodt (MNK.N) jumped 7.8 percent to $65.75 after the biopharmaceutical company posted a 31 percent rise in sales.
Data due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) is expected to show home resales in the U.S. fell 2 percent in October, after rising in September.
REUTERS
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