US PRE MARKET

The S&P 500 Futures is trading at 2,723.75  with a loss of -0.03% percent or  -0.25 point. Other U.S. stock futures  mixed in pre-market trading for Wednesday, May 31. The Dow Futures is trading at 24,655.00  with a loss of -0.06% percent or  – 14.00 point.The Nasdaq Futures is trading at 6,992.75 up with +0.08% percent or  +5.50 point.

THURSDAY’S FACTORS AND EVENTS

U.S. stock index futures traded flat ahead of Thursday’s open, following a sharp rally seen in the previous session.

As of 6:14 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 14 points, indicating a decline of just 5.78 points at the open. Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 futures indicated a slightly positive start to the session for their respective markets.

Stocks rose sharply on Wednesday as concerns surrounding Italy’s political crisis showed signs of abating. The Dow gained more than 300 points while the small-caps Russell 2000 index notched a record high. Banks led the rally on Wednesday, as companies like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America both gained more than 1 percent.

WEDNESDAY’S ACTIVITY

For the day the Dow is trading at 24,667.78 up with +1.26% percent or  +306.33 point. The S&P 500 is trading at 2,724.01 up with +1.27% percent or +34.15 point. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 77,462.45 up with +0.89% percent or  +65.86 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,647.99 up with +1.50% percent or +24.34 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 1,018.46 up with +1.42% percent or +14.29 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,967.96 up with +1.48% percent or +28.72 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,194.90 up with +1.23% percent or +14.56 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,622.14 up with +1.28% percent or +20.52 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,512.79 up with +1.26% percent or  +18.86 point;

WORLD MARKETS

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere,Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading at 22,201.82 up with +0.83% percent or  +183.30 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading at 30,376.72 up with +1.06% percent or +319.93 point. China’s Shanghai Composite is trading at 3,095.47 up with +1.78% percent or  +54.03 point. India’s BSE Sensex is trading at 35,058.88 up  with +0.44% percent or  +152.77  point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 is trading at 7,701.25 up with +0.15% percent or +11.68 point. Germany’s DAX is trading at 12,735.78  with a loss of -0.38% percent or -48.08 point. France’s CAC 40 is trading at 5,437.65 up with +0.19% percent or +10.31 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 is trading at 386.11 up with +0.16% percent or +0.64 point.