By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Stock futures pointed slightly higher in a shortened session on the Memorial Day holiday Monday, rising against a backdrop of a stronger dollar after heavy hints of a U.S. interest rate cut from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen late last week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 45 points, or 0.3%, while those for the S&P 500 index added 4.2 points, or 0.2%, to 2,101.50. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 8.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,518.50.

Financial markets in the U.S. are closed, but futures tied to U.S. stocks will trade in a shortened session until 1 p.m. Eastern Time, then reopen at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Read:When do stock and bond markets close for Memorial Day? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-do-markets-close-for-memorial-day-2016-05-25)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-do-markets-close-for-memorial-day-2016-05-25)Wall Street stocks brushed aside hints of a summer rate hike (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2016/05/27/live-blog-and-video-of-janet-yellen-interview/)from Fed Chairwoman Yellen on Friday. All three main index booked their biggest weekly gains in several weeks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caution-puts-lid-on-us-stock-futures-ahead-of-yellen-speech-2016-05-27) ahead of the long holiday weekend. (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2016/05/27/live-blog-and-video-of-janet-yellen-interview/)

That action continued on Monday, with stock futures higher. A big gainer on Monday was the dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-clings-to-1200-an-ounce-after-yellen-says-rate-increases-coming-within-months-2016-05-30), which hit a level above Yen111 against the yen , while gold prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-clings-to-1200-an-ounce-after-yellen-says-rate-increases-coming-within-months-2016-05-30) struggled to hold onto the $1,200-an-ounce level. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-shoots-up-over-1-after-yellen-comments-trigger-yen-weakness-2016-05-30) shot up 1.4% as the yen fell, lifting shares of exporters. European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/europe-stocks-struggle-for-traction-against-holiday-closures-for-us-london-2016-05-30) were having a muted day, with London closed for a holiday.

WTI crude-oil prices fell 15 cents to $49.18 a barrel.

For the week ahead, investors will continue to ponder Yellen's comments and also look ahead to big data such as Friday's nonfarm payrolls. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are projecting the economy to have created 158,000 new jobs in May, slightly below the 160,000 reported in April.

Some analysts said if the data is weaker, that might put a wrench in the Fed's plans to hike interest rates in the near term. Sakis Paraskevov, senior fundamental analyst at IronFX, isn't so convinced that a Fed hike will happen this summer.

"We believe that the Committee will not rush into the next hike without feeling confident that the latest improvements in the data will prove durable, something that requires more time than just a few weeks," said Paraskevov in a note to clients on Monday.

Stocks to watch: Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) could grab the spotlight when trading resumes Tuesday after the electric-car maker said it has scheduled a grand opening of its battery factory outside of Reno, Nevada for July 29.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 30, 2016 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)