Wall Street futures march higher as deal making takes spotlight from corporate earnings

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U.S. futures followed global markets higher on Monday ahead of another big week of corporate earnings reports but an absence of economic data as the U.S. government shutdown entered its second month.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.3% before the bell, while Nasdaq futures advanced 0.6%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back-and-forth between tiny gains and losses.

Kimberly-Clark shares slid more than 15% after it announced that it was acquiring Tylenol maker Kenvue in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $48.7 billion, creating a massive consumer health goods company.

Kenvue shares jumped 19% on the news.

Microsoft said it has entered into an approximately $9.7 billion cloud services contract with artificial intelligence cloud service provider IREN that will give it access to some of Nvidia’s chips. The five-year deal, which includes a 20% prepayment, will help Microsoft as it looks to keep up with AI demand.

IREN shares soared more than 22% before the opening bell, while Microsoft shares were effectively unchanged.

This week brings more earnings reports from high-profile companies including Spotify, Uber, McDonald's and DoorDash.

Companies are facing pressure to deliver big growth in profits to justify the huge gains their stock prices have made since April and counter worries that the U.S. stock market has become too expensive.

In energy markets, c rude prices rose and then fell as the United Arab Emirates opened a major oil summit Monday, just after the OPEC+ group of the cartel and its allies announced they would halt planned production increases for early 2026.

U.S. benchmark crude oil gave up its early gains, losing 16 cents to $60.82 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 15 cents to $64.62 per barrel.

European benchmarks began the week with gains. Germany's DAX climbed 1.1% while London's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%.

In Asian trading, South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.8% to 4,221.87, yet another record close thanks to strong buying of tech-related and shipbuilders’ shares.

Computer chipmaker SK Hynix's shares soared 11%, helped by recent moves to team up with Nvidia in developing the country's artificial intelligence infrastructure and capabilities. Samsung Electronics, the country's biggest company, gained 3.4%.

South Korean shipbuilders also logged gains after China said it would cancel added port fees on U.S.-invested or U.S. flagged vessels after U.S. President Donald Trump met last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.

Chinese markets also gained. Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up 1% to 26,158.36.

Gains for technology shares were offset by declines for gold shops like Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group. Its stocks dropped 8.7% after the Chinese government reduced the amount of tax rebates on sales of the precious metal. The rebates have been one factor behind a frenzy of gold purchasing that has helped push its price to record levels recently.

However, Chinese buying is just one reason for the rally in gold prices. Many investors have been investing in gold as a hedge against uncertainties and that includes central banks. Early Monday, the price of gold rose nearly 0.6% to $4,020.30 per ounce. But that's well below its recent record levels of near $4,400 an ounce.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.6% to 3,976.52.

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex picked up 0.4%.