Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, NY, U.S. November 18, 2016. - REUTERS
NEW YORK: U.S. equity index futures edged higher on Sunday in the wake of a victory by the centrist candidate in the closely watched presidential French election, suggesting the benchmark S&P 500 may push further into record territory when trading reopens on Monday morning.
S&P 500 emini futures were last up fractionally after electronic trading reopened for the week late on Sunday afternoon. Futures initially ticked about 0.2 percent higher but have since pared some of the gain.
The move came after independent centrist Emmanuel Macron, who favors keeping France inside the European Union, was elected the country's president, easily beating back a challenge from EU critic Marine Le Pen.
On Friday the S&P 500 <.SPX> marked a record-high close, as energy stocks bounced back along with oil prices and the government reported U.S. job growth had rebounded in April.
Macron's victory was seen as a supporting factor for global equity markets that have had some concern about the tide of nationalism and protectionism in recent political contests on both sides of the Atlantic.
"It's a win for Europe, and it's a win for global markets," Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
"We didn't see a strong risk-off market going into today's runoff. That said, there was always trepidation that perhaps this time the pollsters would have it wrong."
Macron had secured more than 65 percent of the vote to Le Pen's 34.5 percent with 45 million ballots counted out of 47 million registered French voters. - Reuters
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