United States equity futures moved higher during Sunday evening trade (Monday AEST) ahead of the Memorial Day public holiday, while crude oil prices declined after United States President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran were nearing an interim agreement.
By 9:50 am AEST, Dow futures were up 0.6%, S&P 500 futures had added 0.7% and Nasdaq futures gained 1%.
Oil futures began gapped lower, with Brent crude futures down 7.8% to US$95.41 ber barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures down 5% to $91.77 per barrel.
Investor sentiment remained supported after Wall Street last week shrugged off a brief and orderly pullback, aided by falling Treasury yields and lower oil prices amid growing optimism surrounding a possible Iran agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also finished near all-time highs.
Several leading stocks staged strong rebounds during the week, with a number of companies breaking through key technical levels as risk appetite improved.
Markets are now turning attention toward a busy week of corporate earnings, with investors set to monitor quarterly results from Marvell Technology, Dell Technologies and Costco Wholesale.
Economic data will also remain in focus, particularly the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
U.S. stock markets will remain closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Futures markets will operate on shortened schedules, with Dow futures trading until 1 pm ET on Monday (3 am AEST Tuesday) before resuming regular trading at 6 pm ET (8 am AEST Tuesday) ahead of Tuesday’s session.
The reduced trading activity and thinner liquidity conditions around holiday weekends can often increase market volatility, particularly if major geopolitical or macroeconomic developments emerge while participation levels are lower.
