U.S. stock futures are trading until 1 PM EST on Monday as the stock market is closed for the Memorial Day holiday. The stock futures are trading mostly higher for the day as of 6:45 AM. The Dow Futures are up 43 points to 17892.00. The S&P 500 Futures are up 4 points at 2101.25. The Nasdaq Futures are higher at 4517.5 for a gain of 7.50 points. The Russell Futures are also higher at 1152.2 for a gain of 2.10 points.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, stocks in Asia are trading mostly higher. The Shanghai Composite is higher at 2822.45, up 1.40 points or 0.05 percent. Japan’s Nikkei is higher at 17068.02 for a gain of 233.18 points or 1.39 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is higher at 20629.39 for a gain of 52.62 points or 0.26 percent. The S&P BSE Sensex is higher at 26725.60 for a gain of 72.00 points or 0.27 percent.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 is higher at 6270.79 for a gain of 5.14 points or 0.08 percent. Germany’s DAX is higher at 10317.44 for a gain of 31.13 points or 0.30 percent. France’s CAC 40 is higher at 4517.79 for gain of 3.05 points or 0.07 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is lower at 349.51 for a loss of -0.13 points or -0.04 percent.
The Week’s Factors and Events
While the market is closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday, a number of key economic indicators will be reported during the week ahead. On Tuesday, the Personal Income and Outlays report will give an overview of income and price inflation. On Wednesday, automotive sales for May along with the private sector jobs report from ADP will be leading reports. Thursday will include the weekly jobless claims and EIA petroleum status reports. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will report its May Employment Situation Report which will likely be a leading factor for market trading direction ahead of the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in June.
Stock trading is closed for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday. However, U.S. stock futures will trade until 1:00 PM EST and reopen again at 6:00 PM EST.
Friday’s Activity
On Friday, stocks traded higher after a slightly higher GDP report. GDP was revised up 0.30 percent on Friday in its second estimate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17873.22 for a gain of 44.93 points or 0.25 percent. The S&P 500 was higher at 2099.06 for a gain of 8.96 points or 0.43 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was higher at 4933.50 for a gain of 31.74 points or 0.65 percent.
Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.
The VIX Volatility Index was lower before the holiday weekend at 13.15 for a loss of -0.28 points or -2.08 percent. A speech from Janet Yellen at Harvard was also favorable for the market as Yellen indicated a rate increase would be likely in the next few months but did not indicate June specifically.
Other notable index closes on Friday included the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at 1150.45 for a gain of 10.69 points or 0.94 percent; the S&P 600 closing at 702.84 for a gain of 5.86 points or 0.84 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1492.07 for a gain of 11.42 points or 0.77 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1236.62 for a gain of 5.92 points or 0.48 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 591.50 for a gain of 2.23 points or 0.38 percent.