Futures Pointing to Continued Strength on Wall Street

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Monday, with stocks likely to add to the gains posted last week.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to strength in the overseas markets, as traders shrug off recent concerns about a global trade war.

Traders may also continue to react positively to last Friday?s Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of June.

A light day on the U.S. economic front may keep trading activity somewhat subdued, however, with traders look ahead to the release of reports on producer and consumer price inflation in the coming days.

U.S. stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday as traders reacted positively to a relatively upbeat jobs report.

The Dow rose 99.74 points or 0.4 percent to 24,456.48 for a weekly advance of 0.8 percent. The S&P 500 climbed 23.21 points or 0.9 percent to 2,759.82 to close up 1.5 percent higher on the week, while the Nasdaq jumped 101.96 points or 1.3 percent to 7,688.39 for weekly gain of 2.4 percent.

Biogen’s stock skyrocketed after positive results from a study of its Alzheimer’s treatment.

Germany’s Constitutional Court rejected complaints that raiding the offices of Volkswagen AG’s lawyer Jones Day as part of an investigation into the diesel-emissions scandal violated constitutional law.

Employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 213,000 jobs in June after surging up by an upwardly revised 244,000 jobs in May.

However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent in June from 3.8 percent in May, as temporary school jobs ended for the summer.