European and Asian stocks rose ahead of Monday's Memorial Day holiday in the United States.
Crude oil prices also rose.
European stocks were up slightly after the open, while Asia's major stock indexes picked up momentum as trading progressed.
Germany's DAX index rose 0.1% to 18,713.43, while Paris' CAC 40 index rose 0.2% to 8,107.16. London was closed for a bank holiday.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost just over 0.1%.
Tokyo's Nikkei stock average rose 0.7% to 38,900.02, while Seoul's KOSPI added 1.2% to 2,722.99.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8 percent to 2,788.30 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to 3,124.24 after the government said corporate profits rose 4.3 percent year-on-year in the January-April period.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index reversed early losses and rose 1.2 percent to 18,827.35.
In Taiwan and South Korea, heavy buying of computer chip stocks boosted indexes. The Taiwanese index hit a fresh record high and closed up 1.1%. MediaTek, a semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition televisions and handheld mobile devices, rose 7.5%.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. rose slightly by 0.2%.
“A strong global semiconductor cycle is positive for Taiwan's growth prospects,” ANZ's Raymond Yun and Bansi Madhvani wrote in a research note. “The global semiconductor cycle is buoyed by advances in artificial intelligence applications, cloud computing and 5G communications technology,” they said.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%, recouping all of the losses from the previous two days, and is only up slightly this week, extending its weekly gain to five and remaining just below the record high recorded on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to 16,920.79, surpassing the all-time high it hit earlier this week.
Nvidia rose another 2.6% on Friday, making it the biggest driver of the S&P 500's gains.
The stock's volatility this week came despite a stunning new profit report from Nvidia, which has catapulted the company into one of Wall Street's most influential stocks amid a frenzy around artificial intelligence technology. While the frenzy around AI has driven some stocks to heights that critics say are overdone, Nvidia's impressive growth and prospects for further growth suggest the company may keep on growing.
While the overall U.S. economy suggests that spending by American households remains strong, the numbers below the surface may not be as encouraging.
Concerns over persistently high inflation were behind last week's volatile trading after the recent record highs. The weakness began after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its last policy meeting on Wednesday, in which some officials discussed the possibility of raising interest rates if inflation worsened.
Stocks fell further after reports on Thursday showed the U.S. economy performing better than expected. Such strength could really spook Wall Street, as it could keep up upward pressure on inflation.
In other trading on Monday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 31 cents to $78.03 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising 85 cents on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, rose 32 cents to $82.16 a barrel.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar fell from 156.99 yen to 156.94 yen.
The euro rose to $1.0849 from $1.0844.
