Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were higher on Tuesday, following a long holiday weekend as signs of further easing by the Chinese government boosted investor confidence, although concerns over financial turmoil in Greece and Spain remained.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.69%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.70% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.87% increase.
Hopes for fresh monetary easing by China to support growth in the world’s second largest economy helped support market sentiment. Speculation for near-term monetary easing has been growing after Beijing pledged to speed up approvals for new infrastructure-related projects last week.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the yield on Spain’s 10-year bond rose to 6.47% on Monday, the highest level this year after the government announced that it was to recapitalize one of the country’s largest commercial lenders, Bankia.
Markets were also eyeing developments in Greece, after a weekend opinion poll indicated that the pro-bailout New Democracy party may be able to form a government following the June 17 elections.
The tech sector was expected to be active, as investors waited for Samsung Electronics to launch its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe on Tuesday in a move from the South Korean company to topple Apple Inc. as the world’s leading smartphone maker. Apple shares were holding up in pre-market trade, climbing 0.59%.
Meanwhile, Facebook shares plunged 2.54% in early trading, amid reports the social media giant is in discussion to acquire Norway’s Opera Software for its mobile phone software technology for over USD1 billion.
According to a New York Times report, the social network recently hired former Apple software and hardware engineers with hopes of releasing its own smartphone next year.
Elsewhere in M&A news, Japanese trading house Marubeni was said to be nearing a deal to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for approximately USD3.5 billion, excluding debt.
In the financial sector, JP Morgan sold an estimated USD25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to boost earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous “London Whale.”
Investors were also focusing on Dewey & Leboeuf LLP, which marked the biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history on Monday evening after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it failed to find a merger partner.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.50%, Germany's DAX jumped 0.78%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.17%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on house price inflation and consumer confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.69%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.70% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.87% increase.
Hopes for fresh monetary easing by China to support growth in the world’s second largest economy helped support market sentiment. Speculation for near-term monetary easing has been growing after Beijing pledged to speed up approvals for new infrastructure-related projects last week.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the yield on Spain’s 10-year bond rose to 6.47% on Monday, the highest level this year after the government announced that it was to recapitalize one of the country’s largest commercial lenders, Bankia.
Markets were also eyeing developments in Greece, after a weekend opinion poll indicated that the pro-bailout New Democracy party may be able to form a government following the June 17 elections.
The tech sector was expected to be active, as investors waited for Samsung Electronics to launch its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe on Tuesday in a move from the South Korean company to topple Apple Inc. as the world’s leading smartphone maker. Apple shares were holding up in pre-market trade, climbing 0.59%.
Meanwhile, Facebook shares plunged 2.54% in early trading, amid reports the social media giant is in discussion to acquire Norway’s Opera Software for its mobile phone software technology for over USD1 billion.
According to a New York Times report, the social network recently hired former Apple software and hardware engineers with hopes of releasing its own smartphone next year.
Elsewhere in M&A news, Japanese trading house Marubeni was said to be nearing a deal to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for approximately USD3.5 billion, excluding debt.
In the financial sector, JP Morgan sold an estimated USD25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to boost earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous “London Whale.”
Investors were also focusing on Dewey & Leboeuf LLP, which marked the biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history on Monday evening after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it failed to find a merger partner.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.07%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.50%, Germany's DAX jumped 0.78%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.17%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.7%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on house price inflation and consumer confidence.