Bulls Get Lift From China's Yuan Announcement

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's the beginning of summer but it's no time to get lazy. Investors have too much to concern themselves with before they pack their bags and head to the beach.

Over the weekend, investors learned China plans to allow the yuan to rise after announcing the end of the currency's peg to the dollar. It's likely the yuan will appreciate only modestly, but the move is seen by many, including President Obama, as helping to protect the recovery in world economies.

And later this week, traders will gauge statements from the Federal Reserve following the central bank's likely decision to keep interest rates at historic lows.

And though they won't be out for at least two more weeks, corporate earnings will be closely scrutinized by Wall Street for clues as to whether a recovery is indeed taking hold. A preview of what's to come once the second quarter ends can be had this week from the likes of Adobe Systems(ADBE), Nike(NKE) and Lennar(LEN).

That's quite a bit to be mindful of, but there is optimism that stocks will rise as a new trading week begins.

As of 5 a.m. EDT Monday, participants who were bullish in TheStreet's Bull vs. Bear poll tallied 50.6%, or 293 of the 579 votes cast. Bears scored 214 votes, or 40%, while survey-takers who were neutral came in at 72 votes, or 12.4% of the total.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended last week with a gain of 2.4% Nasdaq rose 3% and the S&P 500 gained 2.4%.

Premarket futures suggest stocks will continue rising when the U.S. markets open Monday.

In Asia, stocks rose after China ended the yuan's two-year peg to the dollar. The Nikkei in Tokyo gained 2.4% and China's Shanghai Composite surged 2.9%. European stocks also were gaining.

Precious metals, as has been the case in recent polls, was seen by poll participants as the sector most likely to rise this week. Survey-takers viewed homebuilding as the sector most likely to decline.

In corporate news, specialty drugmakers Biovail(BVF) and Valeant(VRX) agreed to merge.

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