US open: Stocks trade higher as investors look ahead to Powell testimony

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Monday as traders held their breath for a number of economic data points and comments from policymakers scheduled for later in the week.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.35% at 33,507.83, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.62% to 4,070.55 and Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.86% stronger at 11,789.59.

The Dow opened 116.86 points higher on Monday, extending solid gains recorded in the previous session as all three major averages wrapped up the week in positive territory despite elevated Treasury yields.

Market participants will look ahead to congressional testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, which will hopefully provide insight into exactly what the central bank thinks about inflation and what its rate-hiking campaign will look like going forward.

Investors were also patiently awaiting February's jobs report on Friday, which comes after red hot numbers that revealed the US economy added 517,000 payrolls in the prior month. Economists expect to see a print of 225,000.

On the macro front, factory orders fell 1.6% month-on-month in January, according to the Census Bureau, following a downwardly revised 1.7% increase in December but still beating market expectations for a 1.8% decline. Orders for transportation tumbled 13.3%, while new orders rose for fabricated metal products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and machinery. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 1.2%, bouncing back from a 1.2% fall in the previous month.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $154.81 2.50%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $258.18 1.13%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.00 1.05%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $102.16 1.01%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $483.13 0.95%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $155.44 0.92%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.99 0.92%
Visa Inc. (V) $225.47 0.76%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $130.58 0.73%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $184.73 0.62%