Stocks kick off this morning with the S&P 500 on the verge of setting a record high for the first time since February. Equities are getting a boost from the progress on trade deals and growing expectations of Fed interest-rate cuts this year.

European and US index futures rise, with an index of global equities on track for another record high. The US and China finalized a trade understanding reached last month, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

An index of the dollar was little changed after dropping for four straight sessions. The Treasury Department announced a deal with G7 allies to exclude US companies from some taxes imposed by other countries in exchange for removing the Section 899 “revenge tax” proposal from the US tax bill.

Investors will brace Friday for a reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, which is expected to have edged higher in May. The report comes a day after US data that signaled some cracks in the labor market and frailer consumer demand.

The yen holds gains ahead of economic data expected to show Japan's jobless rate held steady last month, while retail sales slowed and Tokyo inflation moderated slightly.