US stocks fluctuated as oil cuts, Treasury yields grow

US stock futures fluctuated early Monday in pre-market trading, with contracts on the S&P 500 GSPC and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI both slightly above the flatline, with gains of 0.10% and 0.08% respectively. The Nasdaq Composite IXIC was 0.11% lower at 0.051 on the Nasdaq.

The Federal Reserve's policy meeting was heightened by the strong job data and the passage of the US debt-ceiling bill on Friday, giving investors hope, with major US stock indexes closing higher on Friday. Joe Biden, president of the United States, signed the bill into law on Friday.

Crude prices were up after Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would slash its oil output by another 1 million barrels per day starting in July. The world's top oil exporter is going it alone with the voluntary cut, as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and its allies agreed to stick to their current oil-production target through 2024.

US benchmark WTI crude futures were up almost 2% at $73.15 on Monday, while Brent crude futures, the worldwide benchmark, added 1.8% to trade at $77.52 a barrel.

At the same time, Treasury yields grew, with the benchmark 10 year Treasury up 3.74% to 3.74%. Two-year yield rose to 4,54%, while the 30-year bond rose to 3.92%. The dollar was higher compared to the basket of major currencies.

The Fed's forecast for interest rates will be held steady at its June 13 - 14 meeting but then raise them again later this summer.

At the moment, markets price in around a 1 in 3 chance of a hike next week and probably CPI might be the main thing that shifts those odds towards a hike if the report is strong, said Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank's chief executive.

If the Fed wants to subtly communicate with the market one way or another ahead of next week, well-placed media stories might surface. However, that does seem unlikely before the CPI, as nothing will be 100% decided until then. We are back to having a fair bit of uncertainty over the near-term Fed outlook, he said.

On the docket Monday, updates on US factory orders and ISM services PMI data were released.

Apple Inc. AAPL is scheduled to unveil its new hardware product on Monday at its World Developers Conference in Cupertino, California. The shares of the iPhone maker rose in pre-market trading.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. shares climbed more than 4% as the stock will join the S&P 500 index. Besides, bitcoin BTC-USD fell to below $27,000, while ether ETH dipped to $1,866.