Investing.com – Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open on Monday as investors waited for the latest indications for Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers in what was otherwise expected to be a dormant session.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 69 points, or 0.32%, at 6:56AM ET (10:56GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.27%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 36 points, or 0.63%.
With no major economic or earnings reports scheduled for Monday, market players looked ahead to appearances from Fed officials.
New York Fed president William Dudley was scheduled to speak at a business roundtable at 8:00AM ET (12:00GMT), while Chicago Fed chief Charles Evans will speak at the Money Marketeers of New York University event after the market close at 7:00PM ET (23:00GMT).
After the U.S. central bank raised rates last week for the second time this year, markets remained unconvinced that another increase would happen this year. Fed fund futures put the possibility of a rate hike in December at only around 32%, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The dollar underwent choppy trade around the unchanged mark against major rivals on Monday.
Elsewhere, politics were also under scrutiny Monday as the U.K. and European Union (EU) kicked off discussions on Britain’s departure from the bloc, while European stocks were buoyed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s majority victory in the country’s parliamentary elections over the weekend.
The European stock benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 gained 1.10% by 6:57AM ET (10:57GMT), Germany's DAX advanced 0.94%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.97% though London's FTSE 100 traded up just 0.16% as concerns over Brexit negotiations capped gains.
Earlier, Asian stocks also saw a solid move to the upside.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% as the yen slipped against the dollar and investors digested mixed trade data with exports up 14.9%, missing consensus, but imports surged a better-than-expected 17.8%.
China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.7% on the back of robust housing prices.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher on Monday, recovering some lost ground after four straight weeks of losses
U.S. crude futures gained 0.27% to $45.09 by 6:59AM ET (10:59GMT), while Brent oil rose 0.38% to $47.55.