Financial Reform, Trade Balance, Treasury Budget, Jobless Claims, Bond Auction

Stocks are likely to open sharply higher this morning as a strong global session, China excluded, leads the way into positive territory.</p

Ninety minutes before the opening bell, S&P 500 futures are up 10 points to 1,065.50 and the Dow futures contract is +73 at 9976. The 2-year Treasury note yield is 2 basis points higher at 0.746% and the benchmark 10-year note yield is 3.3 basis points higher at 3.211%.
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NYMEX crude oil futures are +41 cents at $74.49 per contract while Gold is down $3.90 to $1,226.00.</p

Stocks in China fell 0.82% today despite strong data indicating that its trade surplus expanded to $19.5 billion in May. Exports surged 48.5% versus May 2009 and imports rose 48.3%. Also, exports to the EU were up 49.7%. </p

But stocks elsewhere rallied: Taiwan share jumped 1.56%, Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.10%, shares in India’s BSE Senses closed 1.59% higher, and France’s CAC-40 posted a 0.84% gain.</p

Along with global equities, major currencies climbed overnight, sending the US dollar index down for the third straight day to 87.49 after hitting a 15-month high on Monday, according to economists at BMO. </p

The Day Ahead:</p

8:30 â€