New York. Wall Street futures pushed higher Monday as markets shifted attention from this week’s corporate earnings to a surge in major deals, while the US government shutdown entered its second month and left the calendar with little economic data.

S&P 500 futures gained 0.3 percent before the bell, while Nasdaq futures advanced 0.6 percent. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered between small gains and losses.

Kimberly-Clark shares sank more than 15 percent after the company said it would acquire Tylenol maker Kenvue in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $48.7 billion, forming a major consumer health group. Kenvue shares jumped 19 percent on the announcement.

Microsoft said it signed a roughly $9.7 billion cloud services agreement with artificial intelligence cloud provider IREN, giving it access to Nvidia chips. The five-year contract includes a 20 percent prepayment. IREN shares surged more than 22 percent in premarket trading, while Microsoft was nearly flat.

Major earnings reports are due this week from Spotify, Uber, McDonald’s, and DoorDash. Companies continue to face pressure to deliver stronger profit growth to justify steep equity gains since April and counter concerns that US stocks are overpriced.

In energy trading, crude prices initially rose but slipped after the United Arab Emirates opened a major oil summit, just days after OPEC+ agreed to halt planned output increases in early 2026.

US benchmark crude lost 16 cents to $60.82 per barrel. Brent crude fell 15 cents to $64.62 per barrel.

European markets opened higher. Germany’s DAX rose 1.1 percent, London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 percent, and France’s CAC 40 added 0.2 percent.

Asia also advanced. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.8 percent to a record close of 4,221.87, driven by strong demand for tech and shipbuilder shares. SK Hynix surged 11 percent, helped by recent collaboration efforts with Nvidia to expand the country’s AI infrastructure. Samsung Electronics gained 3.4 percent.

Shipyards climbed after Beijing said it would scrap extra port fees on US-invested vessels following last week’s meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1 percent to 26,158.36. Tech gains were partly offset by a slide in gold retailers such as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, which fell 8.7 percent after China reduced tax rebates on gold sales. The rebates have helped fuel a surge in gold buying that has pushed prices to historic highs.

Gold gained 0.6 percent early Monday to $4,020.30 per ounce, still well off record highs near $4,400.

China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.6 percent to 3,976.52, while Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.4 percent higher.

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