Stock futures rise to start the week, despite growing coronavirus cases
The first economic report of the week will be existing home sales for May
U.S. equity futures were pointing to a higher open on Wall Street to start the week.
The major futures indexes are indicating a gain of 0.8 percent.
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In Asia on Monday, Tokyo's Nikkei edged 0.2 percent lower, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.5 percent and China's Shanghai Composite index also was off 0.1 percent.
In Europe, London's FTSE was 0.1 percent lower, Germany's DAX slipped 0.2 percent and France's CAC was off 0.3 percent.
The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours. The UN health agency said on Sunday that Brazil led the way with 54,771 cases tallied and the US next at 36,617. India confirmed 15,400 new cases.
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The United States also reported more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday and Saturday, with the daily totals their highest since May 1. A large share of the cases are in the South, West and Midwest, where hospitals in some areas are becoming overwhelmed.
Word that Apple will temporarily close 11 stores as coronavirus cases rise across swaths of the South and West, just weeks after reopening them, helped spur a bout of selling on Wall Street on Friday.
On Friday, the S&P 500 ended a wobbly day down 0.6 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 percent to 25,871.46, while the Nasdaq composite inched up by less than 0.1 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38239.98 | +253.58 | +0.67% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5010.6 | +43.37 | +0.87% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15451.305261 | +169.30 | +1.11% |
The simultaneous expiration of contracts for stock options and futures, an occasional occurrence that can drive bouts of buying and selling and is known as “quadruple witching day," added to volatility.
On Monday, the National Association of Realtors will report existing home sales for May. Economists are looking for sales of previously owned homes to fall 3 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1 million. April’s decline of 17.8 percent was the steepest plunge since July 2010.
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A barrel of U.S. crude oil for delivery in July slipped 21 cents to $39.54 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 2.3 percent to settle at $39.75 on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 2 cents to $42.21 per barrel. It gained 1.6 percent to settle at $42.19 per barrel and the week's end.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.