Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US benchmarks ended the month in the green.

ASX futures were up 0.5% or 38 points as of 8:00am on Monday, suggesting a higher open.

U.S. stocks close out May with more gains as Salesforce reverses some on Thursday's weakness.

DJIA gained 574 points, or 1.5%, to 38686, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 5277, while the Nasdaq edged 2 points lower to 16735, well above the worst levels of the day.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 0.9% to US$81.11 a barrel, while gold was down 0.7% at US$2,327.33.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 4.12% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.41%. US Treasury notes were down, with the 2 Year yield at 4.87% and the 10 Year yield at 4.50%.

The Australian dollar was 66.50 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 99.43.

Asia

Chinese shares closed mixed, wavering after earlier gains as traders digested May PMI data that came in below expectations. Mining and infrastructure stocks led the losses. Zijin Mining was down 1.5% and China Yangtze Power edged down 0.1%. Sichuan Mingxing Electric Power lost 1.05%. Meanwhile, software stocks led gains, with Thunder Software Technology up 8.1%. Cubic Digital Technology added 18%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.2% lower at 3086.81. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.2%; the ChiNext Price Index was down 0.4%.

Hong Kong shares gave up morning gains to end lower after China PMI data missed expectations and caught investors off guard. Semiconductor and consumer-related tech stocks led the losses. Alibaba shed 1.8% and Meituan was 3.5% lower. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. dropped 1.8% and Xinyi Solar slid 6.0%. Telecommunications stocks lifted the market, with China Mobile ending 2.5% higher and China Unicom gaining 0.9%. EV maker NIO rose 7.2% on its potential record sales in May. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 0.8% lower at 18079.61, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1.65%.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in real estate and financial stocks, as signs of slowing U.S. growth raise hopes for the Fed's rate cuts later this year. Mitsubishi Estate climbed 3.6% and Daiwa Securities Group gained 5.2%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1% to 38487.90. Investors will be focusing on a U.S. inflation gauge due later in the day and their implications for the monetary policy. Eastern Time. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 1.5 basis points to 1.070%.

India's Sensex closed 0.1% higher at 73961.31, led by finance stocks. India's 1Q GDP data due later in the day is likely in focus as investors weigh weaker-than-expected U.S. job data and the downward revision in U.S. 1Q GDP. Among advancers, Bajaj Finance gained 1.3%, HDFC Bank rose 1.1% and IndusInd Bank was 0.9% higher. Among decliners, Nestle India fell 2.1%, Tata Consultancy Services lost 1.8% and Maruti Suzuki India was 1.5% lower.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Friday, as the FTSE 100 Index rose 0.6% to 8277.99.

mong large companies, YouGov PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 5.6%, and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC surged 4.8%. National Grid PLC rounded out the top three movers on Friday, as shares gained 4.7%.

Alphawave IP Group PLC posted the largest decline, dropping 5.5%, followed by shares of John Wood Group PLC, which dropped 5.5%. Shares of JD Sports Fashion PLC fell 4.7%

In Europe, shares closed slightly higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index adding 0.3% to 518.17, Germany's DAX was unchanged at 18,497.94 and France's CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 7,992.87.

North America

U.S. stocks close out May with more gains as Salesforce reverses some on Thursday's weakness.

DJIA gained 574 points, or 1.5%, to 38686, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 5277, while the Nasdaq edged 2 points lower to 16735, well above the worst levels of the day. For the month the DJIA gained 2.3%, the S&P 500 added 438% and the Nasdaq jumped 6.9%.

The Fed's preferred inflation gauge arrived in-line with expectations, doing little to alter rate cut expectations.

Information technology stocks ended the day virtually flat following a late rally, while all the other sector rose.

Energy, real estate and utilities were the strongest sectors as investors rotated from riskier stocks.