Futures Pointing To Slightly Higher Open On Wall Street

With trading resuming following the Christmas Day holiday, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a slightly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.1 percent.

The markets may receive a boost from a jump by shares of Intel (INTC), as the semiconductor giant is surging by 2.0 percent in pre-market trading.

The advance by Intel comes following news the Israeli government has agreed to give the company a $3.2 billion grant toward the construction of a new $25 billion chip-making facility in southern Israel.

Stocks may also continue to benefit from optimism about the outlook for interest rates following last week’s tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data.

On the heels of the data, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is indicating a 75.6 percent chance the Federal Reserve will cut rates by a quarter point in March.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as many traders are likely to remain away from their desks following the holiday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep traders on the sidelines ahead of a relatively quiet week on the U.S. economic front.

After an early move to the upside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday before eventually ending the session narrowly mixed. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed modestly higher, while the narrower Dow edged slightly lower.

While the Dow slipped 18.38 points or 0.1 percent to 37,385.97, the Nasdaq rose 29.11 points or 0.2 percent to 14,992.97 and the S&P 500 crept up 7.88 points or 0.2 percent to 4,754.63.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved higher for the week. The Nasdaq jumped by 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.8 percent and the Dow edged up by 0.2 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with several markets closed for holidays. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index…