By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening little changed Wednesday, continuing the quiet start to the new month ahead of the much-anticipated monthly employment report.
At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 60 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures traded 3 points, or 0.1%, higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures largely unchanged.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just 1%, or 45 points, on Tuesday, the first day of June, while the broad-based S&P 500 broke a three-day wining streak to close just 2 points lower. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite dropped 0.1%, for its second losing day in three.
While there have been some worries about growing inflationary pressures, the major indices are still hovering around all-time highs amid confidence about the strength of the country’s economic improvement as the accelerated vaccination program allows businesses to reopen.
That said, investors have been reluctant to push the boat out further this week ahead of Friday’s May employment report, which could set the trading tone for the rest of the month.
Ahead of that, the Fed’s Beige Book is released at 2:00 PM ET, while central bank officials Patrick Harker, Robert Kaplan, Charles Evans and Raphael Bostic all take part later Wednesday in a forum hosted by the Minneapolis Fed.
In the corporate sector, AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) stock is set to soar again Wednesday, continuing the recent rally of this meme stock after the movie-theater operator raised $230 million to cash in on a social media-driven trading frenzy.
The earnings calendar is light, and most of the big names are due to hit after the close, including software company Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) and Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger parent PVH (NYSE:PVH). Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) will both also be in focus after reporting strong numbers after the close Tuesday.
Crude oil posted more gains Wednesday, amid continued enthusiasm about the global economic recovery from the pandemic.
By 6:30 AM ET, U.S. crude was up 1.1% at $68.46 a barrel, after settling the previous session at its highest level since October 2018. Brent was up 1.3% at $71.13, after closing Tuesday above $70 for the first time since 2019.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other top producers, including Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, agreed on Tuesday to keep to their plan to gradually ease supply curbs through July, while noting solid demand recovery in the U.S. and China, the two largest consumers of crude in the world.
Additionally, U.S. crude oil inventories data from the American Petroleum Institute are due later in the session, with the official numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration due on Thursday, a day later than usual following the Memorial Day holiday at the start of the week.