This morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-Z2) are trading higher by 2.00 points to $1426.00 per contract. The major stock indexes seem to be trading slightly higher after last Friday's high volume decline. Traders should be cautious right after the opening bell today as often the stock markets will resume the downside action from late last week for the first thirty minutes to an hour in the trading session. The European stock markets seem to be basically flat ahead of the opening bell. The European markets look to be waiting for direction from the U.S. stock markets.
Traders should watch the financial stocks for leadership. If the leading financial stocks hold up today the major stock indexes are likely going to hold up. If the Leading financial stocks decline this would be a sign of weakness for the major stock indexes. Some leading financial stocks that traders should follow include JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS), Deutsche Bank AG (DB), and Morgan Stanley (MS). These stocks will generally tell us everything to know about the intra-day direction of the U.S. stock market.
Below you may find the video.