U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Tuesday, May 31. The Dow Futures are up 26.00 points to 17875.0. The S&P 500 Futures are higher at 2098.5 for a gain of 1.25 points. The Nasdaq Futures are higher at 4518.25 for a gain of 8.25 points. The Russell Futures are showing a gain of 1.10 points at 1151.2.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, stocks in Asia traded mostly higher. China’s Shanghai Composite gained 94.17 points or 3.34 percent to 2916.62. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 166.96 points or 0.98 percent to 17234.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was higher at 20815.09 for a gain of 185.70 points or 0.90 percent. The S&P BSE Sensex was lower at 26667.96 for a loss of -57.64 points or -0.22 percent and the NSE Nifty was lower at 8,160.10 for a loss of -18.40 points or -0.22 percent. The Asia Dow was higher at 2664.80 for a gain of 11.47 points or 0.43 percent.

In Europe, stocks traded mostly lower. The FTSE 100 lost -8.72 points or -0.14 percent at 6262.07. Germany’s DAX was lower at 10304.83 for a loss of -28.40 or -0.27 percent. France’s CAC 40 was lower at 4517.74 for a loss of -11.66 points or -0.26 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was lower at 349.19 for a loss of -0.95 points or -0.27 percent. The Europe Dow was lower at 1574.76 for a loss of -5.94 points or -0.38 percent.

Tuesday’s Factors and Events

 On Tuesday, the market will get the leading economic indicator for price inflation, the Personal Income and Outlays report. Consensus is for a 0.4 percent monthly increase in personal income, a 0.7 percent monthly increase in consumer spending, a 0.3 percent monthly increase in the PCE Index and a 0.2 percent monthly increase in the Core PCE Index. The annual rate for inflation is at 0.8 percent with the Core PCE Index at 1.6 percent. The Federal Reserve’s target for inflation is 2 percent.

Other indicators reported on Tuesday include consumer confidence, the S&P Case-Shiller HPI and the Chicago PMI.

Stocks actively trading in the pre-market include Monsanto, Micron Technology, Edwards Lifesciences, Deere & Co., Under Armour, H & R Block Inc., Carnival Corp. and Apple Inc.

Verizon will be on watch for the day after the company completed a deal that would end strikes and improve workers’ pay. Year-to-date the stock is up 9.52 percent at $50.61.

Source: Verizon. Google Finance.

Friday’s Activity

Trading was closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday. Stocks will begin trading from their Friday close. On Friday, 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.

Other notable index closes in the U.S. on Friday included the small-cap Russell 2000 closing at 1150.45 for a gain of 10.69 points or 0.94 percent; the small-cap 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.