Wall Street Today | Musk taunts Bernie Sanders, suggests he'd sell more TSLA

Asian stocks looked set for a steady open Monday as traders await key Chinese economic data and monitor bond-market volatility triggered by high inflation and the prospect of tighter monetary policy.

Australian shares edged up, while futures for Japan and Hong Kong rose. U.S. contracts pushed higher after technology shares bolstered the S&P 500 on Friday, underlining the stock market's resilience to price pressures stoked by supply chain and labor disruptions. The yen slipped.

The economists sound more dovish than Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman. He expressed concern last month that "money is a bit too free and available right now," and said the Fed should "start moving" in the first quarter of 2022.

Companies across industries have managed to navigate supply chain bottlenecks and climbing input costs by raising prices, which have been readily absorbed by consumers -- so far.

U.S. retail gasoline prices are poised to average more than $4 a gallon in three states for the first time in 13 years as energy prices surge and fan fears of inflation.

The average price of gasoline is already above $4 a gallon in California and Hawaii and, at $3.97 a gallon, is poised to cross the mark in Nevada as well, according to AAA. The last time that happened in three states at the same time was in 2008, a time when oil surged to an all-time record of more than $147 a barrel.

"I keep forgetting that you're still alive," Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX, tweeted in a reply to the 80-year-old senator from Vermont. In a subsequent tweet, Musk asked: "Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word…"

Donald Trump's family hotel company has reached an agreement to sell the rights to its glittering Washington, D.C., hotel for $375 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

The House committee said the hotel lost more than $70 million between its opening in 2016 and last year, leading the Trumps' company to inject at least $24 million in aid. The Trumps have disputed those findings.

Manufacturers struggling with a shortage of semiconductor chips are finding workarounds, executives said, redesigning products, shipping uncompleted units and focusing on older, lower-tech models.

After pushing for years to add digital features like screens and wireless connectivity, makers of appliances and vehicles are reversing, temporarily, to continue supplying products to dealers and consumers amid a shortfall in semiconductors that industry officials project will last into next year.

Small-cap stocks have leapt higher in recent days as investors bet on companies they hope can respond quickly to rising inflation.