Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open
Oil has steamed ahead so far today, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil higher by three per cent at $45.70 a barrel after wildfires in Canada, as well as fighting in Libya dragged on production.
International benchmark Brent crude added 2.6 per cent to $45.75 a barrel.
Yesterday the latest US inventories posted a higher than expected addition to stockpiles though there was further evidence production is slowing.
Precious metal prices are also strengthening along with oil.
Read more: Crude oil surge pushes up the price of petrol at the pumps
US stock futures are pointing to a rise at the open with the S&P up by 0.28 per cent, the Nasdaq up by 0.31 per cent, and the Dow up by 0.25 per cent.
European markets rose in early trading, though have since given up much of their gains. The FTSE 100 is currently down just a touch.
Chinese markets finished their day with small rises, while in Japan markets were closed for a national holiday.
The global bond market is mixed, with yields on 10-year U.S. government bonds edging up by one basis point at 1.79 per cent.
In stocks:
Energy stocks will be of interest today as the oil price moves. The biggest pre-market movers today have been Chesapeake Energy up 12.74 per cent, Southwestern Energy up 5.21 per cent, Devon Energy up 4.12 per cent and Marathon Oil up 4.11 per cent.
Electric car maker Tesla will be the centre of attention after its results last night suggested its on-track to put 80,000 to 90,000 cars on the road this year. The auto-industry disrupter posted a net loss of $282m last night, in line with expectations.
Read more: Kerching: Tesla Model 3 pre-orders are now worth $14bn
Tribune Publishing, owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, has rejected Gannett's $815m, or $12.25 a share, takeover bid, with Tribune's chief executive Justin Dearborn saying the bid underestimated the company's value.
US earnings today:
Earnings season in the US is still going strong. We've so far heard from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group as well as SeaWorld Entertainment, who is re-focusing away from its live attractions.
After the bell we'll get numbers from Fiserv; News Corp; Paramount Group; Square; Yelp; Activision Blizzard, and DreamWorks Animation.
Economic news:
More US employment data this morning: initial and continuing claims were released a short while ago showing the number of those filing for unemployment benefits in the US rose more than expected last week, increasing by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 274,000 for the week ended 30 April.
Another seperate report revealed a 35 per cent surge in planned layoffs in April, with most of the announced job cuts concentrated in the energy sector.
Shortly we'll get the latest natural-gas inventories.