Holiday in the U.S. Keeps the Dow at 17,873

U.S. market trading was closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Stock futures traded higher on Monday closing at 1:00 PM. The Dow Futures were up 50 points to 17,899.0. The S&P 500 Futures were up 4.75 points to 2,102.0. The Nasdaq Futures gained 12 points at 4,522.0 and the Russell Futures were up, gaining 3.10 points at 1,153.2.

The gains in the futures market followed a higher close on Friday which led to a weekly gain. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,873.22 for a gain of 44.93 points or 0.25 percent. The S&P 500 was higher at 2,099.06 for a gain of 8.96 points or 0.43 percent and the Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4,933.50 for a gain of 31.74 points or 0.65 percent.

For the week the DJIA was higher by 2.10 percent. The S&P 500 was higher by 2.25 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 3.41 percent.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

This Week’s Factors and Events

While market trading was closed on Monday, the week ahead includes a number of significant economic reports that will influence trading leading up to the Federal Reserve’s next two-day policy meeting on June 14 and 15. On Tuesday will be the Personal Income and Outlays report which includes the PCE Index, a main gauge of inflation for the Federal Reserve. The monthly change for the PCE Price Index is expected to be 0.3 percent. Annual inflation is currently at 0.8 percent as of last month’s report and annual core price inflation is currently at 1.6 percent. The Fed’s target for inflation is 2 percent.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report its May Employment Situation report. Consensus is for an increase in payrolls of 158,000 and the unemployment rate is expected to fall to 4.9 percent. A weak employment report combined with last week’s report of 0.8 percent GDP growth could potentially stall the Fed’s next interest rate increase as they await stronger economic growth overall. The market has been mostly factoring in a September rate increase however this week’s data will be highly influential in determining the market’s direction over the next few weeks.

Global Market Trading for Monday

In the global markets, stocks traded mostly higher on Monday. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was higher at 6,270.79 for a gain of 5.14 points or 0.08 percent. Germany’s DAX was higher at 10,333.23 for a gain of 46.92 points or 0.46 percent. France’s CAC 40 was higher at 4,529.40 for a gain of 14.66 points or 0.32 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was higher at 350.14 for a gain of 0.50 points or 0.14 percent.

In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite was higher at 2,822.45 for a gain of 1.40 points or 0.05 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was higher at 17,068.02 for a gain of 233.18 points or 1.39 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was higher at 20,629.39 for a gain of 52.62 points or 0.26 percent. In India, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher at 26,725.60 for a gain of 72.00 points or 0.27 percent and the NSE Nifty was higher at 8,178.50 for a gain of 21.85 points or 0.27 percent.