Just over three hours before the start of trade, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 44 points at 11294 and those on the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index advanced 4.8 points to 1181.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained eight points to 2185.50. Changes in futures don't always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
The blue-chip Dow index rallied 1.1% Friday, rising for a second consecutive trading day. However, it fell 1.5% last week, which was marked by dramatic daily gains and losses.
Asian and European stock markets posted gains Monday after data showed that Japan's gross domestic product contracted 1.3% on an annualized basis in the April-June quarter. The drop was much smaller than the 2.7% expected by economists. Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.4%. In Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index gained 1% in morning trade.
"While the short-term contraction in the Japanese economy in the wake of the earthquake in March was larger than expected, the ensuing recovery has also been faster than expected," said Flemming Nielsen, senior analyst at Danske Bank, in a note. He noted that the second-half outlook for Japanese growth remains strong.
Investors are now awaiting the Empire State manufacturing survey for August, due at 8:30 a.m., ET. Then, at 10 a.m., the NAHB housing-market index for August will be released.
On the corporate front, companies scheduled to report earnings Monday include personal-care-product maker Estee Lauder Cos., home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. and food-service distributor Sysco Corp.
In other news, offshore-drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. announced plans Monday to acquire Norway's Aker Drilling ASA in a deal valued at $2.23 billion, including $800 million in debt.
In the currency markets, the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, slipped marginally to 74.468 from 74.594 in North American trade late Friday.
The Swiss franc, meanwhile, dropped sharply against the dollar and the euro, hit by reports that the Swiss National Bank plans to take more steps to curb the strength of the currency.
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