US open: Commodity stocks pace gains as dollar slide continues
Commodity-related issues buoyed the main Wall Street averages as the US dollar continued to trade on the backfoot.
As of 1516 BST the Dow Jones Industrials was up by 0.39% to 20,884.37, alongside an advance of 0.50% to 6,114.03 for the Nasdaq Composite and gains of 0.35% to 2,390.00 for the S&P 500.
In parallel, the US dollar spot index was off by 0.31% to 96.84, giving prices of most commodities a shot in the arm.
Unsurprisingly, that saw non-ferrous metals (3.90%) top the leaderboard on the NYSE, alonsgide gains for Brewers (1.74%), Basic Resources (1.71%) and Aerospace&Defence (1.65%).
The latter was being boosted by news that US president Donald Trump inked $110bn-worth of arms deals during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Indications at the weekend that OPEC might be moving closer to extending a deal to cut its combined output also put a bid into oilfield services names.
Acting as a backdrop, the White House was scheduled to make its budget request the next day.
According to the Washington Post, it was likely to include large cuts to Medicaid and changes to programmes meant to fight against poverty.
Oanda senior analyst Craig Erlam said: "US President Donald Trump’s global tour will be of interest to traders although we do appear to be seeing a more reserved version of himself so far, which will come as a relief to many."
There was little on the economic agenda by way of proper data releases, but multiple speeches from top Federal Reserve officials were scheduled.
The three-month moving average for the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago's national activity index rose to a reading of 0.23 in April after printing at 0.00 in March.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker was due to give a speech on the link between physical and economic well-being at Jefferson College of Health Professions in Philadelphia at 1500 BST, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will deliver welcoming remarks at his bank’s conference on opportunity and inclusive growth at 1530 BST.
Speeches were also due after the close from Fed Governor Lael Brainard and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans.
In corporate news, chemicals group Huntsman agreed to a merger of equals with Switzerland’s Clariant that will create a company worth around $20bn.
Ford Motor was higher on news it will replace chief executive Mark Fields with Jim Hackett.
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $184.40 2.01%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.60 1.25%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $121.81 0.84%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $173.81 0.71%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $216.88 0.69%
3M Co. (MMM) $197.07 0.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $153.97 0.59%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $64.12 0.53%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.07 0.51%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $121.67 0.42%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $78.58 -0.24%
American Express Co. (AXP) $76.66 -0.18%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $51.71 -0.13%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $84.70 -0.09%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.44 -0.05%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $106.50 -0.02%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $77.81 -0.01%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.43 0.02%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $152.08 0.07%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.32 0.09%
S&P 500 - Risers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.43 3.04%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $157.17 2.72%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $41.77 2.45%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $59.06 2.42%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $57.12 2.40%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $38.31 2.32%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $278.59 2.13%
Boeing Co. (BA) $184.40 2.01%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $165.94 1.99%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $102.39 1.97%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $148.43 -2.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $154.09 -1.55%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $73.97 -1.47%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $478.66 -1.31%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $28.29 -0.95%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $43.67 -0.94%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $175.45 -0.88%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $11.63 -0.85%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $174.01 -0.85%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $80.46 -0.79%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.43 3.04%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $59.06 2.42%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $20.33 2.01%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $20.88 1.80%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $29.66 1.66%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $45.95 1.61%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $138.17 1.60%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.50 1.48%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $290.75 1.39%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $111.41 1.36%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $154.09 -1.55%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $43.67 -0.94%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $175.45 -0.88%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $151.26 -0.75%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $55.75 -0.71%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $116.13 -0.68%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $113.17 -0.59%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $309.09 -0.56%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $117.69 -0.28%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $46.74 -0.23%