Stocks May Benefit From Early Bargain Hunting

(RTTNews) - After falling sharply in recent weeks, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a moderately higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 47 points.

The markets may benefit from bargain hunting following the recent pullback, which has dragged the major averages down to their worst levels in four months.

However, it is worth noting that stocks seemed poised for a rebound in a number of the past few sessions, but buying interest typically waned not long after the open amid lingering concerns about the financial situation in Europe.

Trading activity may also be somewhat subdued amid a lack of major economic news and a relatively quiet day on the earnings front.

Nonetheless, shares of Yahoo (YHOO) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the online media giant announced that it is selling up to half of its stake in Alibaba back to the Chinese e-commerce company for about $7.1 billion.

DaVita (DVA) may also be in focus after the kidney dialysis services provider announced a deal to buy HealthCare Partners for about $4.42 billion in cash and stock.

Meanwhile, shares of Lowe's (LOW) may come under pressure in early trading after the home improvement retailer reported better than expected first quarter results but lowered its full year earnings guidance.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on Facebook (FB) following the social media giant's glitch-plagued debut on Friday. Shares of Facebook are down by 4 percent in pre-market trading.

After showing a lack of direction in morning trading on Friday, stocks showed another notable move to the downside over the course of the afternoon. The pullback by the markets came as traders were reluctant to hold positions going into the weekend.

The major averages all ended the day firmly in negative territory, at their worst closing levels in four months. The Dow fell 73.11 points or 0.6 percent to 12,369.38, the Nasdaq plunged 34.90 points or 1.2 percent to 2,778.79 and the S&P 500 slid 9.64 points or 0.7 percent to 1,295.22.

With the losses on the day, the major averages all fell sharply for the week. The Dow dropped by 3.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 tumbled by 5.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index crept up by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.19 to $91.67 a barrel after tumbling $4.65 or 4.9 percent to $91.48 a barrel in the week ended May 18th. Gold futures, which edged up $7.90 or 0.5 percent to $1,591.90 an ounce last week, are slipping $4.50 to $1,587.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar slid 1.2 percent against the Japanese yen last week before settling at 79.02 yen. Meanwhile, the greenback rose 1.1 percent versus the euro to $1.2782. The dollar is currently trading at 79.30 yen and is valued at $1.2734 versus the euro.