US pre-open: Futures track higher ahead of first session of H2

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Monday as traders get ready for the second half of the trading year to get underway.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.23%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.22% and 0.21% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 45.20 points lower on Friday as major indices wrapped up H1 with some modest losses.

Finalto's Neil Wilson said: "US stocks are coming off a losing session but a cracking first half, with the S&P 500 up 14.5% and the Nasdaq Composite up 18%. For the second quarter they were up 4% and 8% respectively, whilst the Dow Jones fell 1.7%. Friday’s core PCE index showed inflation rising at the slowest pace since late 2020. The case for the Fed to cut is rising.

"In the US, the latest JOLTS job openings report will provide some strokes of colour ahead of the payrolls report on Friday. There has been a steady decline in the number of job openings in the US, which has added to the emerging sense that the US economy is slowing down. The number of available jobs per jobseeker dipped to its lowest in three years amid signs of normalisation in the labour market following the pandemic upheaval."

On the macro front, S&P Global’s June manufacturing PMI will be out at 1445 BST, while last month’s ISM manufacturing PMI and May construction spending figures will follow at 1500 BST

Markets will be closed on Thursday in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com