US Stock futures begin June slightly lower

U.S. stock futures pointed to slight losses to begin June trading on Wall Street after consecutive monthly gains.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures implied an opening loss of about 20 points. Dow futures slipped 42 points or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures pointed to an opening loss of about 0.2% while Nasdaq 100 futures suggested a slip of 0.3%.

The S&P 500 and Dow each gained at least 3% last week while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.8% to close out May. Those gains were propelled by increasing bets by traders that the global economy will successfully reopen after the coronavirus forces a shutdown of most economic activity.

Last week’s gains led the major averages to their first back-to-back monthly advances since late 2019. The Dow and S&P 500 gained 4.3% and 4.5%, respectively, for May while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 6.8%.