U.S. futures mostly climbed Monday following the Independence Day holiday and oil prices slipped after OPEC+ announced a ramp up in production.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.1%. Nasdaq futures rose 1.1%.
OPEC+ announced Sunday that seven of its members plan to expand oil production by a combined total of 188,000 barrels per day in August. It was the fifth straight
month that OPEC+ members have agreed to raise output.
The countries increasing their output are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
Uncertainty over supplies persists as talks with Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz appear to be on hold during funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which will continue for several days.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 47 cents to $71.65 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude fell 51 cents to $68.18 a barrel.
SK Hynix, the South Korean memory chip giant, filed for its U.S. initial public offering, seeking to raise more than $28 billion. SK Hynix has reported record profits in recent months as soaring global investment in data centers and other AI infrastructure has fueled demand for memory chips.
SpaceX shares inched up about 1% in early trading ahead of Tuesday's entrance into the Nasdaq 100 index, which is tracked by investment firms that manage 401(k) retirement accounts. The Elon Musk-led rocket and AI company went public about three weeks ago amid much fanfare.
At midday in Europe, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX were both unchanged while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3%.
In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was virtually unchanged at 69,737.69. Tech giant SoftBank Group Corp. declined 3.1%, while computer chipmaker Tokyo Electron shed 1.2%.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.5% to 8,051.33.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 1.1% to 23,616.32. The Shanghai Composite index inched down less than 0.1% to 4,041.24.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 8,831.00.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 162.37 Japanese yen from 161.32 yen, resuming its climb despite rumors that authorities might intervene to stem the yen's decline. A year ago, the dollar was trading at 140 yen levels.
This week will bring updates on U.S. housing, inflation and unemployment.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
