US Stock Indexes Futures Head North; FOMC Speakers In Focus

Wall Street stock futures were set for a higher open in early trading on Monday, as market players awaited for a series of speeches from FOMC officials later this week to weigh expectations on the future of monetary policy and especially the next interest rate hike.

US equities ended mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.1% by the end of the session, with Amazon contributing the most relevant news of the day as it announced the purchase of supermarket chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion.

"This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market's shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers," said WF's CEO John Mackey.

Analysts warned that these move from Amazon could develop into deep changes in the retail sector, pushing structural changes to compete with the tech giant’s logistic system.

On the downside, retail sector competitors fell sharply, including Costco, Target. The Dow Jones was able to close in green territory despite a 4.6% drop of Wal-Mart stocks.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +24.38 / +0.11% / 21384.28
• Standard & Poor’s 500: +0.69 / +0.03% / 2433.15
• Nasdaq Composite: -13.74 / -0.22% / 6151.76

Economic data on Friday continued to disappoint investors. Building permits and housing starts came in at minus 4.9% and 5.5% respectively, missing an expected 1.8% and 4.1% build.

In a separate report, the University of Michigan said its consumer expectations and consumer sentiment also came in below expectations at 84.7 and 94.5 points respectively.

Last week, the Federal Reserve rose interest rates by 25 basis points to a range between 1.00 and 1.25 percent, marking its second hike in 2017. The US regulator said a third rate hike is still planned and could be applied later this year if economic data supported the case.

Ahead today, no relevant data is scheduled but FOMC member Dudley is set to speak as of 12:00 GMT, proving some extra guidance on the Fed monetary policy stance.