(RTTNews) - Following notable declines across the prior two sessions, equities may recover ground in early trading on Monday. Index futures currently signal a positive open, with S&P 500 futures showing a 0.5 percent advance.

Market participants could seek bargains at lower valuations after the recent retreat that brought the Dow to its weakest close in four weeks.

The benchmarks posted a sharp retreat last Friday after weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment figures were released.

Recent losses have moved the S&P 500 further from the record closing peak set at the end of trading last Wednesday.

Volume could stay moderate as investors await Nvidia (NVDA) earnings.

The artificial intelligence leader and market pacesetter plans to report fourth-quarter results after Wednesday's close.

Traders may also hold back from larger positions before the Federal Reserve's favored consumer inflation data arrive on Friday.

Equities fell sharply throughout Friday's session, extending Thursday's retreat. All major averages posted sizable losses, sending the Dow to its lowest close in a month.

The benchmarks finished near their session lows after mostly flat action into the close. The Dow fell 748.63 points or 1.7 percent to 43,428.02, the Nasdaq dropped 438.36 points or 2.2 percent to 19,524.01 and the S&P 500 declined 104.39 points or 1.7 percent to 6,013.13.

The Friday slide left the averages lower for the holiday-shortened week, with the Dow and Nasdaq each down 2.5 percent and the S&P 500 off 1.8 percent.

Overseas, Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower on Monday, with Japanese exchanges shut for the emperor's birthday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.2 percent.

European markets showed mixed results. Germany's DAX Index rose 0.9 percent, while France's CAC 40 Index slipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.1 percent.

Commodities saw crude oil futures ease $0.13 to $70.27 a barrel after dropping $2.08 to $70.40 a barrel on Friday. Gold futures climbed $11 to $2,964.20 an ounce after falling $2.90 to $2,953.20 an ounce in the prior session.

The dollar traded at 149.67 yen versus 150.39 yen at Friday's New York close. Versus the euro, the dollar stood at $1.0472 compared with $1.0458 last Friday.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.