United States stock futures traded modestly higher on Sunday evening (Monday AEST) as investors prepared for the start of a new month following a strong May that saw Wall Street's major benchmarks reach record highs.
By 9:30 am AEST (11:30 pm GMT), futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both up 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%.
The move followed a strong monthly performance for U.S. equities, led by technology stocks. The Dow climbed 2.8%, the S&P 500 advanced 5.2%, and the Nasdaq surged 8.4%
The major indexes finished at fresh record highs on Friday after the United States and Iran reportedly reached a 60-day memorandum of understanding aimed at extending the current ceasefire.
President Donald Trump said he would meet in the Situation Room "to make a final determination" and reiterated that Iran "must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon". He also called for the Strait of Hormuz to be "immediately open".
Luka Belobrajdic, economist at Westpac Group, said uncertainty remained despite the ceasefire framework.
"Both the U.S. and Iran failed to confirm progress, while continuing limited military activity, with the U.S. maintaining its blockade and Iran intercepting U.S. drones operating in the region.
"This came against a backdrop of Israel expanding its assault in Lebanon against Iran's key regional proxy Hezbollah."
Oil futures moved higher after retreating on Friday following the ceasefire developments.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.8% to US$88.83 a barrel, while Brent crude futures gained 1.5% to $92.52 a barrel.
Market participants will now shift their focus to economic data, with Friday's nonfarm payrolls report expected to provide fresh insight into the strength of the labour market and the likely path of Federal Reserve interest rate policy.
The employment report comes as investors continue to assess whether economic growth is slowing sufficiently to justify future monetary easing, while inflation pressures remain a key consideration for policymakers.
Corporate earnings have also provided support for equities throughout the reporting season.
According to FactSet data, approximately 85% of S&P 500 companies have reported first-quarter earnings above analyst expectations, comfortably exceeding the five-year average of 78%.
Companies have collectively surpassed profit forecasts by 16.7%, more than double the average earnings surprise of 7.3% recorded over the past five years.
