Stocks May Open Modestly Higher On Upbeat Chinese Data - U.S. Commentary

(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.

After trending lower for several sessions, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during the trading day on Friday. The markets benefited from a largely positive reaction to a better than expected monthly jobs report.

The major averages closed firmly in positive territory, with the Dow and the S&P 500 back above key psychological levels. The Dow surged up 198.69 points or 1.3 percent to 16,020.20, the Nasdaq advanced 29.36 points or 0.7 percent to 4,062.52 and the S&P 500 jumped 20.06 points or 1.1 percent to 1,805.09.

For the week, the Nasdaq inched up by 0.1 percent, while the Dow fell by 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 was nearly flat.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day up by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance. While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both just below the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.01 to $97.64 a barrel after jumping $4.93 or 5.3 percent to $97.65 a barrel in the week ended December 6th. Gold futures, which fell $21.40 or 1.7 percent to $1,229 an ounce last week, are rising $2.80 to $1,231.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar extended its gains against the yen last week, climbing 0.5 percent to 102.91 yen. On the other hand, the greenback fell 0.9 percent against the euro to $1.3706. The dollar is currently trading at 103.02 yen and is valued at $1.3720 versus the euro.