Wall Street kicked off June with modest gains Monday as investors await several reports on the labor market that could play into the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
Futures for the S&P 500 were up close to 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the Dow were virtually unchanged.
Shares of GameStop soared 87% in premarket following speculation that the man at the center of the pandemic meme stock craze owns a large number of shares of the video game retailer with options to buy more. A screenshot posted on a Reddit forum appears to show that Keith Gill, who goes by “Roaring Kitty” on social media platforms, holds up to 5 million shares of the company worth $115.7 million as of the closing price Friday. That value has nearly doubled in trading before the bell Monday.
Boston Beer declined almost 11% before the bell after Japanese beverage giant Suntory reportedly denied that it was in talks to buy the maker of Sam Adams. Media reports that a deal was in the works sent Boston Beer rocketing up 22% on Friday.
With earnings season effectively wrapped up, markets and economists will be focused on labor data this week. The government releases April job openings data on Tuesday, its layoffs report on Thursday and the more comprehensive May jobs report on Friday.
While the labor markets have remained sturdy in the midst of elevated interest rates meant to curb inflation and cool the economy, there have been signs the job market is showing some softness in recent months. Jobs and wage data are one economic component the Fed takes into consideration when deciding whether raise, cut or leave interest rates alone.
The Fed’s benchmark lending rate is at a two-decade high after the central bank started cranking up rates in March of 2022 to battle the soaring inflation that took hold during the pandemic rebound. Fed officials have left its benchmark rate alone at its last six meetings because inflation has not yet settled at its 2% target. Investors had been hoping for multiple rate cuts this year, but are largely now betting on just one, likely toward the end of the year.
Most economists are projecting the Fed won’t raise or cut rates at its next meeting later this month.
At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.8%, the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.4% and Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2%.
India’s Sensex surged 3.2% to 76,304.58 after the country’s 6-week-long national election came to an end with most exit polls projecting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will extend his decade in power with a third consecutive term.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.8% to 18,403.04, while the Shanghai Composite index fell back in the afternoon, losing 0.3% to 3,078.49.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.1% to 38,933.36 and the Kospi in Seoul surged 2% to 2,682.52.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.8% to 7,761.00.
In Taiwan, the Taiex closed 1.8% higher.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 13 cents to $77.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 14 cents to $81.25 after OPEC agreed during the weekend to maintain its production cuts at a time when prices are slack.
The U.S. dollar fell to 156.81 Japanese yen from 157.26 yen. The euro was relatively flat at $1.0849, up from $1.0848.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to close its sixth winning month in the last seven. The Dow leaped 1.5% and the Nasdaq slipped less than 0.1%.
Stocks broadly got a boost from easing Treasury yields in the bond market after the latest reading on inflation came in roughly as expected, at 2.7% last month.