Investing.com – U.S. futures were higher on Monday, as the Senate gears up for a possible vote on tax-reform bill his week.
The S&P 500 futures inched forward two points or 0.08% as of 6:47 AM ET (11:47 AM GMT) while Dow futures rose 23 points or 0.10%. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased five points or 0.09%.
Chinese microlender Qudian Inc (NYSE:QD) was among the biggest gainers before the morning bell, increasing 3.85% after it plummeted over 16% on Friday. Pharmaceutical firm Teva Pharma Industries Ltd ADR (NYSE:TEVA) also rallied 0.58% and patent company Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) surged 88.91% while investment firm US Global Investors Inc (NASDAQ:GROW) increased 30.75%.
Elsewhere car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) was down 0.17% while laboratory equipment maker Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) slipped 2.58% and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) data firm fell 2.76%.
In economic news, new home sales in October is set to be released at 10:00 AM ET (3:00 PM GMT).
Meanwhile Republican leaders in the Senate could vote on the highly anticipated tax-reform bill as soon as November 30. Republicans are rushing to pass a tax bill before the end of the year, which could include cutting corporate taxes to 20% from 35%.
In Europe stocks rose. Germany’s DAX surged 36 points or 0.20% while in France the CAC 40 increased 11 points or 0.22% and in London, the FTSE 100 rose 24 points or 0.33%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 inched forward 9 points or 0.27% while Spain’s IBEX 35 was up 55 points or 0.55%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.56% to $1,294.56 a troy ounce while crude oil futures slipped 0.85% to $58.45 a barrel ahead of an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) meeting on Monday on whether major producers will extend their current production-cut agreement. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched down 0.13% to 92.60.