S&P 500 Index opens in positive territory above 4,200 following Friday's drop

Wall Street's main indexes started March on a firm footing.
Defensive sectors trade in the negative territory after the opening bell.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Following Friday's drop, major equity indexes in the US opened higher on Monday. As of writing, the S&P 500 was up 0.45% on the day at 4,201, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was rising 0.75% ar 34,126 and the Nasdaq Composite was gaining 0.15% at 13,881.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is rising 1.8% on the day supported by a more than 1% increase seen in the US crude oil prices.

On the other hand, the defensive sectors, the Utilities Index and the Real Estate Index, both trade in the negative territory after the opening bell.

Later in the session, the ISM's April Manufacturing PMI report and FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell's speech will be watched closely by market participants.

S&P 500 chart (daily)

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD looks weak below 1.1800

EUR/USD has slipped back under pressure, breaking through the 1.1800 support and drifting towards the weekly lows near 1.1770 ahead of the opening bell in Asia. The move reflects renewed strength in the US Dollar, with steady geopolitical tensions keeping its demand firm. Moving forward, the release of the German labour market report and flash inflation figures should keep European investors entertained on Friday.

GBP/USD threatens the 200-day SMA near 1.3440

GBP/USD rapidly leaves behind Wednesday’s strong advance, coming under heavy pressure and retesting the 1.3440 zone, where the critical 200-day SMA is located. Cable’s deep pullback follows the strong gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold trims gains, slips back to around $5,170

Gold is now facing some downside pressure, hovering around the $5,170 region on Thursday. The yellow metal surrenders part of its earlier gains on the back of the resurgence of the buying interest in the Greenback. In the meantime, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to limit the downside potential for now.