Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday, with stocks likely to continue experiencing choppy trading after ending last week?s trading mixed.
Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve?s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
The release of the monthly jobs report on Friday along with the release of some other key economic data in the coming days may also keep some traders on the sidelines.
After turning in a lackluster performance early in the session, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages slid firmly into negative territory after ending Thursday?s trading mixed.
The major averages ended the day in the red but off their lows of the session. The Dow fell 76.01 points or 0.3 percent to 25,451.06, the Nasdaq plunged 114.77 points or 1.5 percent to 7,737.42 and the S&P 500 slid 18.62 points or 0.7 percent to 2,818.82.
For the week, the Nasdaq tumbled by 1.1 percent, while the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent and the Dow jumped by 1.6 percent.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from companies such as Twitter (TWTR), Intel (INTC) and Exxon Mobil (XOM).
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Commerce Department showing a significant acceleration in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.
The report said real gross domestic product jumped by 4.1 percent in the second quarter following a 2.2 percent increase in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to surge up by 4.2 percent.
The faster rate of GDP growth reflected accelerations in consumer spending and exports, a smaller decrease in residential fixed investment, and accelerations in federal government spending and in state and local spending.
A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment deteriorated by less than initially estimated in the month of July.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for July was upwardly revised to 97.9 from the preliminary reading of 97.1. Despite the upward revision, the index was still down from 98.2 in June.
Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 3.1 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index.
Biotechnology, brokerage, and real estate stocks also saw notable weakness, while oil service stocks moved to the upside on the day.
