US stock futures rose marginally higher in pre-market session on Monday following the strong gains last week in the midst of optimism about restarting the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial futures traded 64 points higher, indicating a rise of around 45 points on the opening Monday. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures have also pointed to a strong opening for the two indexes for the day.
Last week, the Dow rose 6.8 percent, while the S&P 500 soared almost 5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 3.4 percent and closed for the first time since February 19 at record rates.
A surprisingly solid report on employment for May sparked a stock rally that, during Friday's session, sent the Nasdaq Composite over its record high. The rally added to a weeks-long market melt-up, as investors saw indications that early efforts to reopen companies were bringing some staff back and pushing advances in economic activity.
The central bank is expected to issue its revised policy statement and its first set of economic forecasts since December. Although investors are not expecting the Federal Reserve to scale back its rates, which currently range from zero percent to 0.25 percent, investors may be eager to obtain guidance from policymakers after a remarkable 2.5 million increase in payrolls generated in May following Friday's employment data.
In Asia, stocks were up Monday after the US jobs report shattered the expectations of Wall Street market observers and boosted hopes for a rapid economic recovery. The US currency headed toward an eighth consecutive day of declines, while 10-year Treasury yields ticked up after last week's rally.
The report came Friday as states began their processes of reopening. All 50 states have somewhat lightened quarantine controls, with restaurants and other businesses resuming operations in some areas.
Data compiled by OpenTable shows that restaurant reservations across the US are now 80 percent below the levels of 2019. Reservations were down 100 percent in April. Occupancy rates for the hotel, home purchases and US air travel have also begun to increase.
Nevertheless, at least some economists noted that the unexpectedly strong labor market turnaround demonstrated in the job report may deter lawmakers from adding additional economic stimulus.
Others have noted that the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars through Congress' Paycheck Insurance System in May could have contributed to an overestimation of the amount of employees being permanently placed back on payrolls, with another wave of layoffs a potential danger after the program's funds have been depleted.
