US pre-open
While Friday's massive gains are unlikely to be repeated at the outset, US stocks are set to open modestly higher.
Last week ended with all three major benchmarks rising 2.1% on Friday; this morning the Dow Jones is tipped to rise 10 points or so from Friday's close of 17,848 and the S&P 500 is set to rise two or three points from 2,092, according to spread betting quotes.
“As we move on from what was an eventful five days for markets last week, the focus now turns squarely to the FOMC decision in nine days time, the last main event before markets surely take a bit of a breather for the holiday period. Capping off the end of a busy week, Friday's payrolls helped cement a Fed hike, while headlines out of the OPEC meeting helped keep markets on their toes right up until the closing bell,” suggested Deutsche Bank.
“As is usually the case after payrolls the week ahead is a little quiet in the US but there's plenty of data in China for us to keep an eye on throughout the week with the main monthly data due out at various stages,” the bank's Fixed Income Research team added.
Later today there will be consumer credit figures for October and tomorrow will see JOLTS (job openings) numbers for the same month.
While equities continue to advance, oil prices remain in the doldrums and energy stocks may act as a drag on the market.
In pre-market trade, restaurant chain Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) is on offer after is said an E.coli outbreak damaged sales in its fourth quarter.
Reporting ahead of the bell today are Mattress Firm (NASDAQ:MFRM) and Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) are among those scheduled to report.