Markets set to start the week higher
U.S. stock markets were poised to climb on Monday, as traders digested a strong jobs report that gave the Fed policymakers room to continue raising interest rates.
As of 5:10 a.m. ET, Dow futures rallied 286 points, or 0.875 to 33,174. S&P 500 futures jumped 47.5 points, or 1.16% to 4,154.5 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 193.75 points, or 1.54% to 12,744.75.
Data released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department showed the economy added 390,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate stayed at 3.6%.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a gain of 328,000 jobs and the unemployment to fall to 3.5%
ECB meeting, U.S. CPI in focus this week
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) will hold a meeting on Thursday, where it’s widely expected to join other major global central banks in tightening monetary policy.
No change in policy is expected because the ECB is still running its asset purchase program. However, economists expect the bank to announce its plans for a rate hike in July, and possibly September as well.
A couple of weeks ago, ECB President Christine Lagarde suggested in a blog post that the bank should start raising its deposit rate from the negative territory in July “if the euro area were overheating.”
Lagarde said the rate could be at zero or “slightly above” by the end of September before jumping further “towards the neutral rate.”
Traders will also get figures for US May Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week. The data, due Friday, is forecast to show CPI inflation remained unchanged at 8.3% year-over-year last month.
Curis skyrockets on positive lymphoma study data
Curis (CRIS) shares surged 17% in the pre-market trading session on Monday on encouraging results from a study involving its mavusertib drug candidate in lymphoma.
The biotechnology company said the combination of emavusertib with Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ)’s cancer drug ibrutinib showed tumor reduction in eight of nine patients with blood cancer in a Phase 1/2 open-label trial.
According to the company, the study also included 2 complete responses and 2 partial responses.
The Massachusetts-based company said the combination appeared to be well tolerated. It added that the next steps for the study include further dose expansion to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose.
As of writing, Curis stock was marked 17.02% higher to $1.10 a share.
Saudi Arabia’s sharp oil hike pushes crude futures up
In energy markets, crude futures inched higher early Monday after Saudi Arabia increased crude prices for July just days after OPEC+ agreed to ramp up production over the next two months.
The Saudi kingdom raised the July official selling price for its flagship Arab light crude to Asia to a $6.50 premium, from a $4.40 premium in June. Refiners and traders polled by Bloomberg expected the Saudis to announce a hike of $1.50.
As of 5:10 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.29% to $119.22 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures were up 22 cents, or 0.18% to $119.94 a barrel.
