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The Federal Reserve is expected to accelerate the pace of winding down its monthly asset purchases at its two-day meeting this week.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were each about 3% higher as of 5:30 a.m, indicating a higher start to trading later in the day. The S&P 500 hit another record high on Friday. The dollar was worth $96.41.
The US consumer price inflation rose at the fastest pace in 33 years in the year to November, setting the stage for the Fed to announce faster "tapering" of its bond buying.
Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at investment platform eToro, said in a note that this is by far the highest inflation amongst the world's developed economies. "This will force them to tighten their policies at their meeting."
The Federal Open Market Committee is going to meet on Tuesday. The Fed Chair will hold a press conference after the conclusion of Wednesday's meeting.
The Fed bought US Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities in an attempt to calm the markets and support the economy during the swine flu epidemic.
The Fed is expected to reduce its purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities to $20 billion and $10 billion per month, respectively, by the end of March.
Markets will get a reading on US retail sales for November on Wednesday, which should give insight into the strength of consumer demand during the holiday season.
Monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are due Thursday.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, urged people over 18 to get a booster shot by the end of the year. The UK's latest figures show the highest daily rise in Omicron cases over the weekend, taking its total tally to 3,137. The London's FTSE 100 fell.
The week's bank decisions were the focus of the markets in Europe.
Asian markets gained after China's top-level policymakers said they would do more to boost the economy. On Friday, they said they would prioritize economic stability in the year 2022.
The Tokyo's Nikkei added 0.7% after positive data on manufacturer sentiment. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped.
Last week, oil prices posted their biggest weekly gain since August, as Omicron-related fears waned.
West Texas Intermediate was up 2% at $71.69 a barrel.
Buy these 38 stocks to profit as inflation spikes to its highest level in nearly 40 years, and avoid pain from future disruptions, according to a report.
Business Insider has an original article.
