Futures Pointing To Modestly Higher Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the rally seen last Friday, stocks may see some further upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 6 points.

The markets may benefit from the release of a report showing that the Chinese trade surplus rose to its highest level in nearly five years in the month of November.

The report from China's General Administration of Customs said the trade surplus widened to $33.8 billion in November from $31.1 billion in October.

Chinese export growth accelerated to 12.7 percent year-over-year from 5.6 percent in October, while imports rose 5.3 percent, slower than the 7.6 percent growth seen in the previous month.

A separate report from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed that Chinese consumer prices rose less than expected in November amid a slowdown in food price inflation.

Nonetheless, trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued amid a quiet day in terms of major U.S. economic news.

Following the slew of key economic data released last week, the economic calendar is relatively light throughout the upcoming week.

While reports on retail sales, jobless claims, and producer prices are likely to attract some attention, the data is not expected to shed much light on the outlook for the Federal Reserve's stimulus program.

Later in the day, trading could be impacted by remarks from several Fed officials, including Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher.