Futures Hold Gains After Case-Shiller Report
U.S. stock index futures held their strong gains Tuesday after the Case-Shiller home price index report and as investors seemed to temporarily shrug off worries over the euro zone.
Home prices eked out a gain of 0.1 percent in March, according to the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas. Economists expected a gain of 0.2 percent. Still, the major indexes ended the first quarter at new post-crisis lows, according to the report.
Also on the economic front, May consumer confidence numbers are due at 10:00 a.m. ET, with economists surveyed Reuters expecting a reading of 70.0.
U.S. markets were closed for Memorial Day on Monday.
China's biggest banks have accelerated lending toward the end of the month as Beijing starts to fast-track its approval of infrastructure investments in an effort to stem sagging growth, according to the Shanghai Securities News, citing unidentified sources.
European shares gained following the report, but worries over Spanish banks kept a damper on gains.
JPMorgan Chase has sold an estimated $25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to prop up earnings after suffering losses connected to the bank's now-infamous "London Whale" trader, compounding the cost of those trades.
Shares of Opera Software surged amid market talk that Facebook is in discussions to acquire the Norwegian firm for its advanced mobile phone software technology.
The Nikkeirose on speculation that China, Japan's largest export market, may soon launch a stimulus program in order to avoid a sharp slowdown.
Japanese trading house Marubeni is nearing a deal to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for about $3.5 billion excluding debt, and could announce the transaction as early as Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Samsung Electronics launches its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe, with the third generation model expected to be even more successful than its predecessor. The phone has helped the South Korean company topple Apple as the world's top smartphone maker.
Coming Up Next Week:
TUESDAY: Consumer confidence, Dallas Fed mfg survey
WEDNESDAY: Mortgage apps, pending home sales; Earnings from TiVo
THURSDAY: Challenger job-cut report, ADP employment report, GDP, jobless claims, Fed's Pianalto speaks, corporate profits, Chicago PMI, oil inventories, chain-store sales, Zipcar shareholders mtg; Earnings from Joy Global
FRIDAY: Non-farm payrolls, personal income & outlays, ISM mfg index, construction spending, auto sales, Wal-Mart shareholders mtg
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