It's a new month, and a new optimism is pushing up stocks in early trading after a rather dour February.
The S&P 500 finished lower in February, as it has done for six of the past 10 years. It's still up about 1.2% this year.
There's a lot on traders' minds. At the top of the agenda -- new U.S. tariffs on Mexico and China are set to kick in, though there may be some speculation that they will be delayed again or won't be for the full 25% currently penciled in. President Donald Trump will speak to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday as a deadline for a budget agreement approaches next week.
On top of that, earnings from Target and Costco on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, will add to the picture of consumer health. The economic highlight will be the monthly jobs report Friday. Put it all together and it could be a very busy week of ups and downs.
Early Monday, futures tied to the three major indexes were mostly pointing higher. Those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 33 points, or 0.1%, but the S&P showed a slight gain and the technology-heavy Nasdaq indicated a 0.1% rise.
There are other big events moving markets, too. The fallout from the meeting between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, which ended acrimoniously on Friday, is bolstering defense stocks in Europe after countries gathered to discuss a path to peace in Russia's war with the country and bolster the security in the region.
Separately, Bitcoin surged over the weekend after Trump said cryptocurrencies would be a part of a strategic reserve of U.S. assets.