S&P 500 futures were near flat Monday as investors looked to the start of the second half of what’s already been a stellar year on Wall Street. Futures tied to the broad index were little changed, as were Nasdaq-100 futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined by 65 points, or 0.2%. Tesla shares were up 6% in the premarket after the electric vehicle maker reported delivery and production numbers that beat analysts’ expectations. Elsewhere, United shares flickered around flat as bad weather contributed to a swath of flight disruptions for the airline over the long holiday weekend. Stocks are coming off a banner start to 2023. On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite closed out its biggest first-half gain since 1983, surging 31.7%, while the S&P 500 jumped 15.9% for its best first-half since 2019. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, climbing a modest 3.8% during the period. Those gains come as enthusiasm around artificial intelligence boosted tech stocks. Recent data showing a resilient U.S. economy despite higher rates also lifted investor sentiment, easing some fears on Wall Street of a long-awaited downturn. “The tailwinds from a technical perspective may be ending, as the universal pessimism fades, but there are growing indications that a handoff from technicals to fundamentals is possible, with encouraging macro and earnings data,” said Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief of investment research in a Friday note. Investors will pore over the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI and S&P Global manufacturing PMI data for June Monday morning ahead of Friday’s keynote jobs report. The U.S. stock market closes at 1 p.m. Monday ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. U.S. markets will also be closed Tuesday. Asia-Pacific markets rose as investors digested a slew of manufacturing activity reports that showed slowing output in the region. China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index for June came in at 50.5, slightly higher than expectations of 50.2 by a Reuters poll. China’s official government PMI readings posted a third straight month of contraction. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.2% in Tuesday’s afternoon session, leading gains in the region and the Hang Seng Tech index jumped nearly 4%. Mainland China markets were also higher: The Shanghai Composite gained 1.31% to finish at 3,243.98 and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.6% to end the day at 11,091.56. Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in the region and popped 1.7% higher, closing at a new 33-year high of 33,753.33, with the Topix also up by 1.41% and ending 2,320.81. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.49% and ended at 2,602.47, extending its rebound on Friday and the Kosdaq rose 2.42% to finish at 889.29. Private surveys for South Korea and Japan also showed factory activity slowed for the month. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.59% to close at 7,246.1, as investors wait for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the central bank to hike its cash rate by another 25 basis points to 4.35%. Oil rose on Monday after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia announced supply cuts for August, overshadowing concern over a global economic slowdown and the potential for further increases to U.S. interest rates. Brent crude futures were up 0.6%, or 43 cents at $75.84 a barrel by 1119 GMT after gaining 0.8% on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7%, or 48 cents to $71.12, having gained 1.1% in the previous session. Gold fell on Monday as a stronger dollar dented the metal’s appeal, with investors awaiting U.S. non-farm payrolls data and minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting due later this week for clues on U.S. monetary policy. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,912.63 per ounce by 1113 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,920.60. Bullion lost 2.5% in the April to June quarter. There has been a slight decline in safe-haven gold due mainly to the risk-on mood in the market, said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at Kinesis Money.