Wall Street Seen Opening In Positive Note

(RTTNews) - Fairly strong U.S. futures point to a firm start on Wall Street Monday morning. However, persisting worries about growth due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East may weigh on sentiment and limit market's upside.

Investors will be digesting a slew of economic data, while awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due on Wednesday.

Today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described trade meetings with China as very good, characterizing the relationship as stable.

The Dow futures are up 0.57%, the S&P futures are gaining 0.78% and the Nasdaq futures are up 0.93%.

Industrial production data for the month of February is due at 9:15 AM ET. Business inventories data for December, and a reading on Housing Market from NAHB/Wells Fargo are due at 10 AM ET.

Wall Street's major averages failed to hold early gains and settled weak on Friday. The Nasdaq slid 206.62 points or 0.9% to 22,105.36, the S&P 500 dropped 10.14 points or 0.6% to 6,632.19, and the Dow ended down by 119.38 points or 0.3% at 46,558.47.

In overseas trading, Asian markets ended on a mixed note on Monday with investors largely making cautious moves as the war in the Middle East entered the third week.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance in somewhat lackluster trade as investors continue to assess the impact of the Middle East war, and look ahead to monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $1.50 or 1.52% at $97.21 a barrel. Gold futures are down $49.40 or 0.98% at $5,012.30 an ounce.