Stocks set for higher open

By CNNMoney.com staff


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set for a positive start Friday as investors looked to extend the previous session's big rally.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

"It's the last day of the month, so traders will buy into the close just to make [May] look better," said Dave Rovelli, managing director at Canaccord Adams.

With many market participants closing up shop early ahead of Monday's Memorial Day holiday, "there won't be anyone on the other side of that window-dressing," Rovelli said.

"As long as European markets don't slump, we should see a nice follow-through today," he added.

Stocks soared Thursday after China said it will remain invested in European debt. The Dow climbed 285 points, or nearly 3%. The S&P jumped 3.3% and the Nasdaq surged 3.7%.

Economy: A report on personal income and spending comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect income rose 0.4% in April after climbing 0.3% the previous month. Spending was expected to have increased 0.3%.

The Core PCE, the spending report's closely watched inflation component, is expected to have grown by 0.1% after rising 0.1% the previous month.

The May consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan is due shortly after the start of trading. The index is expected to be revised up to 73.7 from 73.3 in early May.

World markets: European shares advanced in morning trading. The FTSE 100 in Britain added 0.5%. France's CAC 40 rose 0.1% and Germany's DAX gained 0.3%.

Asian shares ended higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.3% Friday and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.7%.

Dollar and commodities: The euro extended gains against the dollar, up 0.3% against the U.S. currency Friday.

The greenback was flat against the British pound, and it was up 0.2% versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for July delivery gained 66 cents to $75.21 a barrel. COMEX gold's August contract rose $1.10 to $1,215.50 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices were higher early Friday, pushing the benchmark 10-year note's yield down to 3.33%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. To top of page

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Index Last Change % Change
Dow 12,454.83 -74.92 -0.60%
Nasdaq 2,837.53 -1.85 -0.07%
S&P 500 1,317.82 -2.86 -0.22%
Treasuries 1.74 -0.01 -0.80%
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Company Price Change % Change
Bank of America Corp... 7.15 0.01 0.14%
Sprint Nextel Corp 2.62 0.09 3.56%
Cisco Systems Inc 16.33 -0.06 -0.37%
Chesapeake Energy Co... 15.81 0.23 1.48%
Ford Motor Co 10.60 0.01 0.09%
Data as of May 25

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