U.S. stock futures gave back some of their initial gains on Monday following reports of an explosion at a terminal at New York City’s Port Authority.
Dow Jones industrial average futures traded 25 points higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 4.75 points. S&P 500 futures turned slightly negative, trading down 0.75 point.
Treasurys rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note to 2.36 percent.
A senior New York City Police Department official said that one person was in custody following the incident. Police also said the person in custody sustained a minor injury. New York City police later confirmed there was an explosion in Port Authority.
In the previous session, U.S. equities finished on a positive note, following the release of a U.S. jobs report that was stronger than the market expected.
The nonfarm payrolls data for November revealed Friday that the U.S. had added 228,000 jobs last month, beating expectations of 200,000. The unemployment rate remained steady, at 4.1 percent, while the wage data was below forecasts, with average hourly earnings rising 0.2 percent for the month.
Looking to today’s data, the main piece of economic news set to be released is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, due out at 10 a.m. ET.
While there are no major speeches set to take place by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday, investors will be waiting for the upcoming monetary policy meeting by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), to see if the central bank raises interest rates for the final time this year.
In October, the Fed minutes revealed that a rate hike during this month was all but certain, despite the low inflation that weighs on market sentiment.
Bitcoin will be front and center — again — for investors during trade, after the cryptocurrency’s futures started trading on the Cboe Futures Exchange on Sunday. Two hours into the cryptocurrency’s launch, the new futures had already climbed 10 percent, causing a temporary trading halt, and has already surged past $17,000.
Markets will also keep a close eye on any developments coming out of the U.S. administration, whether that be related to Russia, overhauling the U.S. tax system or President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — a move criticized internationally.
Looking to commodities, crude futures came under slight pressure in morning trade, as rising drilling activity in the U.S. added concern to markets in terms of a potential further increase in U.S. production going forward.
Overseas, European stocks were fluctuating around the flat-line, while markets in Asia finished in the black.
On the earnings front, Casey’s General Store is expected to report after the bell.
