The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Monday, with stocks likely to extend the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions.
Technology stocks may continue to lead the way higher after turning in some of the market’s best performances last Thursday and Friday.
Shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) are surging by 2.6 percent in pre-market trading after Wells Fargo reiterated its Overweight rating on the software giant’s stock.
AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is also likely to see further upside after a report from Reuters said the company has told Chinese clients it aims to start shipping its second-most powerful AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.
Some traders may also be away from their desks as they look to get a head start on the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday.
Reports on durable goods orders, third quarter GDP, industrial production and consumer confidence are still likely to attract attention on Tuesday.
Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Friday, extending the significant rebound seen over the course of Thursday’s session. With the upward move, the major averages further offset the weakness seen earlier in the week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq reached new highs for the session going into the end of the day, closing up 301.26 points or 1.3 percent at 23,307.62. The S&P 500 also jumped 59.74 points or 0.9 percent to 6,834.50, while the narrower Dow rose 183.04 points or 0.4 percent to 48,134.89.
With the strong upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 turned positive for the week. The Nasdaq climbed by 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 inched up by 0.1 percent, although the Dow slid by 0.7 percent.
The continued strength on Wall Street came amid a sharp increase by shares of Oracle, with the software giant spiking by 6.6 percent.
Oracle surged after a memo from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company has agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a joint venture that includes Oracle and private equity firm Silver Lake.
Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) also showed another strong move to the upside after helping lead the markets higher on Thursday on better than expected quarterly results and blowout guidance.
Nvidia also turned a strong performance on the day, with the AI darling and market leader jumping by 3.9 percent.
The advance by Nvidia came after a report from Reuters said the Trump administration has launched a review that could result in the first shipments of the company’s second-most powerful AI chips to China.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a modest increase by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month of November.
NAR said existing home sales rose by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.13 million in November after jumping by 1.5 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 4.10 million in October.
Economists had expected existing home sales to shoot up by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.15 million from the 4.10 million originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded by less than previously estimates in the month of December.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for December was downwardly revised to 52.9 from a preliminary reading of 53.3. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to 53.4.
Despite the downward revision, the index is still above the November reading of 51.0, which marked its lowest level since hitting a record low of 50.0 in June 2022.
Biotechnology stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index surging by 3.1 percent.
Semiconductor and networking stocks also extended the strong upward moves seen on Thursday, contributing to the jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.7 percent.
Computer hardware, airline and financial stocks also showed notable moves to the upside, while some weakness was visible among utilities and housing stocks.