Stock futures rise modestly as traders await reports on housing starts, industrial production

Stock futures rise modestly ahead of opening

NEW YORK — Stocks appear set to end a volatile month with a quiet day ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Futures rose modestly Friday after the major indexes surged a day earlier.

A mixed report on consumer spending and personal income could temper any gains. The Commerce Department said spending failed to increase for the first time in seven months, but personal income inched higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed nearly 285 points, its second biggest gain of the year. The big jump came as concerns eased somewhat about the health of Europe’s economy after China said it doesn’t plan to sell any European debt it holds.

Triple digit moves became common again during the month as investors grappled with concerns that mounting debt in Europe might upend a global economic recovery. Because of those worries, most of the big moves during the month were drops. The Dow has fallen 6.8 percent in May.

Domestic economic reports have taken a back seat to questions about whether countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal will be able to implement steep budget cuts to contain growing deficits. Analysts say even if the countries are successful in reducing debt, cost-cutting could be a major drag on the economy.

Traders spent most of May driving down the euro, which has become a gauge of confidence for Europe’s economy. The euro hit a four-year low and was down as much as 9 percent during the month. The euro was trading in a tight range compared with the dollar Friday. It was at $1.2354.

Movements in the euro often dictated movement of stocks worldwide. Major European and Asian indexes rose modestly Friday. The U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 5, or 0.1 percent, to 10,240. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.20, or 0.1 percent, to 1,102.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 4.25, or 0.2 percent, to 1,865.25.

If European debt worries ease further, the focus could return to the U.S. economy. Reports throughout the month continued to show the country is growing, albeit slowly. Earlier this year, stocks climbed steadily because economic and earnings reports showed consistent improvement.

The Commerce Department said Friday that consumer spending was flat in April, compared with the previous month. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast spending would rise 0.3 percent. It was the first time in seven months that spending had not risen in a month, indicating that consumers are still somewhat tentative about the health of the economy.

Personal income rose 0.4 percent, slightly worse than the 0.5 percent growth forecast by economists.

Economists predict a final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index will be unchanged at 73.3 from a preliminary reading reported earlier this month.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.32 percent from 3.36 percent late Thursday.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.4 percent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.3 percent.