Monday Morning Market Roundup: How Are Markets Reacting to Last Week's Events?

Here’s what’s shaking:

Stocks:

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It looks like markets are slowly picking up after reacting poorly to last week’s major events. Futures are rising to start a week in which a third of the Dow Jones Industrial Average reports quarterly earnings.

Dow Jones industrial futures are up 48 points to 14,518. S&P futures have added 5.9 points to 1,553.50. Nasdaq futures are up 14.25 points to 2,782.50.

Monday offered a mixed scorecard. Hasbro and Halliburton beat Wall Street expectations. Caterpillar, a big bellwether for economic growth, slid in premarket trading after a tough quarter. It also cut its outlook for the year.

Earnings only heat up from here.

Netflix posts earnings after the bell Monday and on Tuesday, DuPont, AT&T, US Airways and Apple report.

Oil:

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The price of oil rose modestly above $88 a barrel Monday as traders returned to commodities after big sell-offs last week.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for May was up 48 cents to $88.49 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the Nymex contact rose 28 cents to finish at $88.01 a barrel.

Analysts said relatively low prices rekindled interest among buyers. Traders cautiously returned to buying certain key commodities Friday, including gold and oil, after big sell-offs.

They also said prices are being supported by the possibility that oil-producing countries could reduce output in order to boost prices. Crude has lost about $9 a barrel since the beginning of the month amid concerns of sluggish growth in China and the U.S., while oil remained well supplied.

Traders were awaiting the release later Monday of existing home sales for March in the U.S., data that will help clarify which direction the U.S. economy is headed. The release of corporate earnings from companies like heavy equipment maker Caterpillar and toy maker Hasbro will shed light on the private sector.