U.S. stock-index futures were flat today after Friday’s jobs report suggested the U.S. economy is on solid footing but not strong enough to move up the timing of the first rate hike by the Federal Reserve in nearly a decade.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 18,126, while those for the S&P 500 index added less than a point to 2,109. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index added 1 point to 4,452.
DATA:
The labor-market conditions index for April are due 10 a.m.
MOVERS:
Zulily (NASDAQ:ZU) jumped 22.2 percent in premarket trading, after Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) bought a 9 percent stake in the online retailer. Alibaba was down 0.5 percent.
Actavis (NYSE:ACT) rose 2.8 percent after the drugmaker's revenue jumped almost 60 percent, helped by higher sales of its branded drugs in North America.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), a cloud software maker, may be active after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it was currently not weighing an offer for the Redmond, Washington-based company.
Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) slipped 0.5 percent after saying it will buy Rosetta Resources (NASDAQ:ROSE) for about $2 billion in an all-stock deal to enter the Eagle Ford shale field and the Permian basin in Texas.
Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) inched up 0.3 percent in early trading after the pay-TV provider said profit doubled although it lost subscribers.
Sotheby’s (NYSE:BID) profit and revenue topped forecasts.
Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) surged 8.6 percent in premarket trade, after the food and beverage company beat first-quarter profit and sales expectations, and provided an upbeat second-quarter outlook.
Wayfair (NYSE:W) climbed 8.9 percent after the online home-goods retailer said its loss narrowed in the first quarter, as increases in marketing and advertising spending helped drive stronger-than-expected sales growth.
COMMODITIES:
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,185 an ounce by 09:45 a.m., after posting a modest weekly fall in the previous week.
Brent crude for June delivery recently fell 0.3 percent to $65.20 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June were trading at $59.25 a barrel, down 0.2 percent from Friday’s settlement.
OTHER MARKETS:
European markets were under pressure as euro zone finance ministers met to discuss a cash-for-reforms deal for Greece, which faces a series of debt repayments this week.
Asian shares rose as investors cheered China's third rate cut in six months. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 3 percent. The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3 percent.