U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Monday, September 19. The Dow Futures are at 18131.0 for a gain of 78.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2141.25 for a gain of 8.75 points. The Nasdaq Futures are at 4833.75 for a gain of 19.50 points. The Russell Futures are at 1226.9 for a gain of 6.20 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is at 16519.29 for a gain of 114.28 points or 0.70 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 23550.45 for a gain of 214.86 points or 0.92 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index is at 3026.05 for a gain of 23.20 points or 0.77 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is at 28634.50 for a gain of 35.47 points or 0.12 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 6798.92 for a gain of 88.64 points or 1.32 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 10349.27 for a gain of 73.10 points or 0.71 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4390.81 for a gain of 58.36 points or 1.35 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is at 341.02 for a gain of 3.20 points or 0.95 percent.

Monday’s Factors and Events

The economic calendar is light on Monday with only the Housing Market Index report at 10:00 AM EST. Stocks are trading higher in the pre-market on Monday ahead of the FOMC and Bank of Japan meetings this week. Both central banks will meet to discuss and take action on monetary policy. In less developed markets, the central bank of Nigeria will also be meeting to help revive the economy in Africa. The central bank of Nigeria meets on Monday and Tuesday of this week.

Oil prices are also gaining which is helping stocks in the pre-market. OPEC will be meeting later this month in Algiers, Algeria at the International Energy Forum on September 26 to 28. Investors are hoping for agreements to help lower production.

Stocks trading actively in the pre-market for the day include the following:

Seagate Technology

General Motors

Comerica

Hormel Foods

Pioneer Natural Resources

Anadarko Petroleum

Cardinal Health

Devon Energy

Kohls

Friday’s Activity

Stocks closed lower on Friday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18123.80 for a loss of -88.68 points or -0.49 percent. The S&P 500 was also down, closing at 2139.16 for a loss of -8.10 points or -0.38 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5244.57 for a loss of -5.12 points or -0.10 percent.

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

Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index at 1224.78 for a loss of -2.25 points or -0.18 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index at 740.50 for a loss of -1.11 points or -0.15 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1520.96 for a loss of -7.73 points or -0.51 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 948.80 for a loss of -3.80 points or -0.40 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1265.87 for a loss of -4.54 points or -0.36 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1185.40 for a loss of -4.42 points or -0.37 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 605.53 for a loss of -0.25 points or -0.04 percent.