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AI, Persian Gulf Outlooks Cap Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Up, Europe Off

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-- Wall Street futures pointed largely sideways pre-bell Monday, as traders weighed unverified reports of a US warship struck near the Strait of Hormuz, and assessed values with major equity indices at all-time zeniths.

In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Nasdaq was steady, after hitting fresh record highs on Friday. The Dow Jones was off 0.4% in pre-bell action.

Investors also await the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report for March on Tuesday, and then the national April jobs report from Washington on Friday, for clues to US labor markets.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) reports earnings after-bell, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and McDonald's (MCD) report later this week, among others.

Spurred by tech-rallies, Asian exchanges traded mostly higher overnight in holiday-thinned trading. Taiwan's TWSE Index rose 4.6%, while Seoul's KOSPI Index gained 5.1%. Exchanges in Bangkok, Shanghai and Tokyo remained closed.

European bourses tracked moderately lower midday on the continent.

eBay (EBAY) shares traded up 9.9% pre-bell, after the online marketplace received a $56 billion buyout-bid from video-retailer GameStop (GME).

On the economic calendar is the factory orders bulletin for March, at 10 am ET.

John Williams, New York Federal Reserve president, is slated to speak on Monday.

In premarket action, Bitcoin traded at $78,529, and 10-year US Treasuries offered 4.41%. Spot gold commanded $4,559 an ounce.

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