MARKET SNAPSHOT: Wall Street Stocks Set To Struggle As French Elections Fail To Impress

Oil bounces around as investors gauge OPEC comments

U.S. stock futures pulled back on Monday, a sign that investors may be ready to cash in on last week's jobs-fueled gains, after the weekend victory for France's President-elect Emmanuel Macron failed to offer much inspiration for equities to move forward.

Oil futures were proving slippery, with prices moving in and out of negative territory.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures eased 37 points, or 0.2%, to 20,917, while S&P 500 futures dipped 4.45 points, or 0.2%, to 2,393.25. Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 10 points, or 0.2%, to 5,638.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes ended at records last week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-glued-in-place-as-oil-takes-a-roller-coaster-ride-jobs-data-ahead-2017-05-05), following Friday's stronger-than-expected April employment report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher and above the 21,000 mark--at 21,006.94--for the first time since early March.

Asia stocks appeared to be one of few places that were getting a positive boost from Sunday's victory, which was largely expected, for French centrist Macron over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Losses for U.S. stock futures increased slightly as European stocks pulled back from a nine-year high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-pull-back-from-21-month-high-after-macron-wins-french-election-2017-05-08), with the French CAC 40 index last down 0.5% in early action.

Read:Macron handily wins French presidential election--seen as an upbeat sign for the stock market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/macron-handily-wins-french-presidential-electionan-upbeat-outcome-for-wall-street-2017-05-07)

It should be noted that the Dow and S&P are trading at the highs of the range they've been in for the last couple of months, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, of the pullback Monday for stock futures.

As of Friday, the S&P moved less than 20 points in either direction for eight consecutive days, the longest streak since 1964. However, some say that could be a good omen for stocks going forward (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-just-did-this-for-the-first-time-since-the-beatles-landed-in-us-2017-05-06).

"I wonder whether we're just seeing some profit-taking following Friday's gains. A break below 2,380 in the S&P and 20,850 in the Dow would certainly suggest this," said Erlam, in emailed comments.

Read:Investors are breathing a sigh of relief over France, for now (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/investors-are-breathing-a-sigh-of-relief-over-france-for-now-2017-05-07)

Markets won't be getting any directional cues from U.S. data, as there are no top-tier readings due Monday.

Investors will, though, hear from a steady stream of Federal Reserve officials this week. That starts Monday with St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who will take part in a panel discussion on low rates at Atlanta Fed financial markets conference at 8:35 a.m. Eastern Time.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester is scheduled to give a speech on the outlook for the economy before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs at 8:45 a.m. Eastern.

Stocks on the move: TV station operators Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.(SBGI) and Tribune Media Co.(TRCO) could make moves following takeover news. Sinclair is nearing a deal to buy Tribune Media for close to $4 billion, in a tie-up that would combine two of the country's biggest local-television operators, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sinclair-closes-in-on-4-billion-deal-to-buy-tribune-media-2017-05-07), which cited sources.

U.S.-listed shares of Akzo Nobel NV(AKZOY)(AKZOY) could come under pressure. Shares fell 3% in Europe after the Dutch paints-and-chemicals maker said it had rejected a third unsolicited takeover bid (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/akzo-nobel-rejects-ppgs-3rd-takeover-offer-2017-05-08) by U.S. paints giant PPG Industries Inc.(PPG)

Read:Live-blog recap from Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting featuring Warren Buffett (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/advice-from-berkshires-annual-meeting-stay-sane-be-honest-2017-05-07)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/advice-from-berkshires-annual-meeting-stay-sane-be-honest-2017-05-07)Other markets: In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index reached a 5-month high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-other-asian-markets-surge-after-macrons-victory-2017-05-07) and Korea's Kospi hit an all-time high, helped in part by the French election result, but also enthusiasm following the U.S. jobs report.

Oil prices traded up and down on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-rebounds-on-expectations-of-more-opec-production-cuts-2017-05-08), with West Texas Intermediate crude futures last up 14 cents to $46.36 a barrel, after tumbling around 6.3% last week. Gold prices rose $3.60, or 0.3%, to $1,230.40 an ounce.

The dollar was largely flat as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index at 98.66, barely changed from levels seen late Friday. The euro traded around $1.0965 from a close ahead of the French election on Friday of $1.0999.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2017 04:40 ET (08:40 GMT)