MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Futures Flirt With 100-point Gain As North Korea Fears Put On Back Burner

Analyst: U.S.-North Korea tensions stall as Trump deals with domestic terrorism

U.S. stock futures gained early Monday, with Dow futures at times trading higher by more than 100 points, signaling a rally for the blue-chip gauge after last week's 234-point fall that was driven in part by North Korea fears.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were recently up by 93 points, or 0.4%, to 21,941, after earlier showing a rise of 106 points. S&P 500 futures tacked on 0.6% to 2,453.75, while Nasdaq-100 futures advanced by 0.6% to 5,871.00.

"The markets have opened with an eerie note of calm at the start of a fresh week," said Kathleen Brooks, a London-based research director at City Index, in emailed comments Monday, noting safety plays such as gold were trading lower.

"The U.S.-North Korea tensions stalled over the weekend as President Trump dealt with more pressing matters of domestic terrorism," she added.

White House officials over the weekend found themselves working to clarify President Donald Trump's comments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-day-later-white-house-says-trump-meant-to-condemn-white-supremacists-2017-08-13) on deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., after his initial remarks on the matter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/watch-live-trump-comments-on-charlottesville-va-display-of-hatred-bigotry-and-violence-on-many-sides-2017-08-12) drew flak from Democrats and Republicans.

Also over the weekend, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to play down the risk of a conflict, writing in The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration is seeking diplomatic solutions (http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/08/13/mattis-and-tillerson-were-holding-pyongyang-account) to achieve the "irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea.

Last week, the Dow gave up 234.49 points, or 1.1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-500-poised-for-worst-week-since-november-as-global-tensions-persist-2017-08-11), with analysts blaming much of the selling on an escalating war of words between Trump and North Korean officials. The S&P 500 lost 1.4% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.5%.

Other markets: European equities stepped higher, and Asian markets mostly closed with gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mostly-higher-as-north-korea-rhetoric-settles-down-2017-08-13). Oil futures traded lower, as a key dollar index advanced modestly.

Individual movers: Shares in Tesla Inc.(TSLA) traded nearly 2% higher in premarket action around $364 after Baird analyst Ben Kallo -- a longtime Tesla bull (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-tesla-is-bairds-top-stock-market-pick-for-2017-2016-12-30) -- hiked his price target for the electric-car maker's stock to $411 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-price-target-lifted-to-411-at-baird-who-says-dont-short-ahead-of-model-3-2017-08-14) from $368.

Netflix Inc.'s stock (NFLX) traded 0.3% lower premarket after a Barron's cover story over the weekend warned the stock could drop more than 50% as "Disney goes its own way and Amazon looms (http://www.barrons.com/articles/the-trouble-with-netflix-1502510711?mod=mktw)," referring to a Netflix-Disney distribution deal that's ending and the threat from Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) streaming business.

Don't miss:Netflix will survive the Disney cord-cut, and here's the proof: Piper Jaffray (Netflix will survive the Disney cord-cut, and here's the proof:Piper%20Jaffray)

And in other Netflix news, the streaming giant has recruited prolific TV producer Shonda Rhimes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netfix-poaches-producer-shonda-rhimes-from-abc-in-a-volley-lobbed-at-hollywood-2017-08-14), the creator of hits such as "Grey's Anatomy" for Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) ABC, in a sign of an arms race for talent.

Economic news: There are no top-tier U.S. economic reports expected Monday, and no Federal Reserve officials are due to speak.

Tuesday should bring U.S. retail sales data for July, and minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting are on tap for Wednesday.

See:North Korea could take back seat as stocks face big week for consumer data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-could-take-back-seat-as-stocks-face-big-week-for-consumer-data-2017-08-12)

And read:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2017 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)