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A
raft of strong economic data and the possibility of fiscal
stimulus under President Donald Trump has driven Wall Street to
record highs since his election.
The S&P is on track to gain 5.8 percent for the first quarter
ending Friday, its best start to the year since 2013.
Investors are also looking to the first-quarter earnings season
to justify Wall Street's lofty valuations.
The S&P is trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the
next 12 months against its long-term average of 15, according to
Thomson Reuters data.
However, the improvement also means more interest rate hikes by
the Federal Reserve. New York Fed President William Dudley said
on Thursday evening that it was appropriate to tighten monetary
policy to reduce the risk of overheating the economy.
On Friday, oil prices fell 0.8 percent after a three-day rally.
[O/R]
A report on consumer spending and a measure of monthly inflation
is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Shares of DuPont <DD.N> were up 0.6 percent at $82.11 in
premarket trading after the company said it would sell its crop
protection business to FMC Corp <FMC.N> and buy FMC's health and
nutrition unit in a deal that will give DuPont about $1.6
billion.
(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Anil D'Silva)
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