U.S. stock futures inched higher on Monday, as investors continued to shake off Brexit worries and instead focused on the outlook for more monetary stimulus from global central banks.
Volumes were expected to be thin in futures trade, as stock markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday. Trading in U.S. stock futures as well as oil and metals futures will close at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13 points, or 0.1%, to 17,897, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 2.70 points, or 0.1%, to 2,099. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index climbed 3 points, or 0.1%, to 4,436.75.
The small gains follow a firm rally last week, when the Dow average and the S&P 500 index marked their best week this year. Stocks clawed back some of their losses logged in the wake of the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.
“The outcome of the U.K.’s referendum on EU membership has created considerable intraday volatility in markets, although the lack of clarity around what happens next has meant that the directionality of the moves has been limited,” analysts at Citigroup said in a note on Monday.
“Uncertainty is likely to prevail, however signs of improvement in the Q2 data elsewhere may mitigate the risks somewhat. Citi’s global GDP forecasts are therefore only modestly changed this month with 0.2% off the 2017 figure,” they added.
Concerns over the vote initially sent stock markets tumbling on June 24, but equities in the U.S. started to rally last week as traders assessed the fallout from a Brexit and determined it may not be the catastrophic event some people had feared.
The referendum, however, prompted pledges from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to make extra liquidity available, while stoking expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will postpone its next rate hike. The BOE meets next Thursday and investors are hoping for a rate cut or more economic stimulus.
U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne said in an interview with the Financial Times he plans to cut corporation tax in the country to 15% in a bid to lure business investments in the aftermath of a Brexit. The announcement momentarily helped the pound halt its post-vote slide, trading as high as $1.3310. However, in the afternoon sterling eased back to $1.3269, down from $1.3277 late Friday in New York. The currency hit its lowest level since 1985 after the Brexit referendum.
European stock markets initially opened higher on Monday, but the gains fizzled throughout the morning.
In Asia, hopes that the Bank of Japan also soon will further loosen its monetary policy boosted investor sentiment on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 rising 0.6% and the Hang Seng Index climbing 1.3%.
Economic docket: No key releases or Federal Reserve speakers are lined up Monday due to the Independence Day holiday. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from its June meeting are due, followed by the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
Corporate news: Tesla Motors Inc. said late Sunday its second-quarter global sales rose 25% to 14,370, less than the 17,000 it had expected.
Other markets: Gold prices continued higher, rising 1.2% to $1,354.70 an ounce. The metal logged a fifth straight week of gains on Friday, it’s longest weekly winning streak since July 2014.
Crude oil prices were little changed around $49 a barrel.
Source: MarketWatch
