Wall Street was slow to gain traction early today, the Associated Press reports, with earnings season winding down and little economic data out of Washington this week on inflation or U.S. employment. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials were unchanged before the bell, while the S&P 500 dipped about 0.1%.
Stock prices have surged recently on rising hopes the Federal Reserve is finally done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates, meant to get inflation under control. A report Friday underscored that pressure is easing on inflation, showing employers hired fewer workers last month than economists expected.
In other trading today, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.01 to $81.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 95 cents to $85.84 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.67 Japanese yen from 149.37 yen.
