US pre-open: Dow set for ninth straight record open

Wall Street is being called to start the day higher with the Dow Jones Industrials on track to open at another record high for a ninth consecutive session as the US dollar slips again.

Yet in the background, some 'market chatter' over the weekend highlighted the increasingly narrow breadth of gains in the stockmarket.

As of 1353 BST, futures on the Dow Industrials were pointing to initial gains of roughly 28.0 points to 22,045.0, alongside a two point advance for the S&P 500 to 2,474.0 and a rise of 8.50 points in the Nasdaq-100.

In parallel, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were off by 1.04% to $49.07 a barrel on the ICE. That followed news that full production had been restored at Libya's main oilfield, Sharara, following its closure at the weekend due to armed protests.

Meanwhile, the US dollar spot index had pared early losses to trade down by just 0.05% to 93.50.

There was little in terms of market-moving data scheduled for release on Monday, meaning that the two Fed speakers which were set to take to the podium, St.Louis Fed chief James Bullard at 1500 BST and Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari at 1925 BST, were left figuring all the more prominently on the calendar.

Ahead of their speeches, Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "Two of the more dovish members of the Fed that have already voiced concerns about [the pace of policy tightening] will be appearing on Monday. Neel Kashkari and James Bullard are both scheduled to speak today and I would be surprised if their concerns will have been eased by Friday’s numbers.

"That said, with only Kashkari being a voting member on the FOMC and a known dove, there may be little to take away from the comments, unless of course he either strikes and unlikely hawkish tone or suggests others are coming around to his way of thinking."

To take note of as well, Pyongyang reacted poorly to news the United Nations's Security Council had slapped fresh economic sanctions on the regime over the weekend, vowing in a written response "thousands-fold revenge" on Washington.

In corporate news, shares in MyoKardia surged 40% after disclosing positive mid-stage trial data for its heart muscle disease treatment.

Horizon Pharma was also on the front foot after the company raised its sales guidance for 2017.

NxStage rocketed alongside following news of a takeover bid from Germany's Fresenius.

Electric-car manufacturer Tesla was planning a debut bond sale, with the company expected to sell $1.5bn in senior unsecured notes maturing in 2025.

Tyson Foods posted forecast-beating third quarter revenues of $9.85bn for earnings per share of $1.28.

Snapon announced a $500m share repurchase authorisation.