Futures Hold Gains as Traders Mull Data

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U.S. stock-index futures held on to solid gains as traders digested two economic reports that came in close to analysts' expectations.

Today's Markets

As of 8:44 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 72 points to 14896, S&P 500 futures gained 9 points to 1605 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 15.5 points to 2899.

The Dow has tacked on some 250 points in the last two trading days as jitters have faded, at least to some extent, about the Federal Reserve's exit strategy from its massive bond-buying program. That has helped the blue-chip average firm up its year-to-date gains to north of 13%.

The focus was expected to remain on the American economy on the day, with several important economic reports slated for release.

The Labor Department reported weekly jobless claims fell to 346,000 from an upwardly revised 355,00 the week prior. Claims were expected to fall to 345,000 from an initially reported 354,000.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.3% in May from April, matching economists’ estimates. Personal income climbed 0.5%, more than the 0.2% Wall Street expected.

Later in the day, at 10:00 a.m. ET, the National Association of Realtors provides its latest look at pending home sales. The number of signed contracts to buy previously-owned homes is seen having climbed 1% in May on a month-to-month basis.

On the corporate front, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) posted fiscal fourth-quarter profits that narrowly beat analysts' estimates, but sales that were slightly shy. Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) left the bidding war over Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR).

Commodity markets were calm. The benchmark U.S. oil contract advanced 31 cents, or 0.3%, to $95.79 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline was flat at $2.73 a gallon. Gold gained $2.70, or 0.24%, to $1,233 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.26% to 2596, the English FTSE 100 rose 0.17% to 6176 and the German DAX dipped 0.05% to 7937.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 surged 3% to 13214 and the Chinese Hang Seng edged up 0.5% to 20440.