By Riva Gold 

Global stock markets mostly held on to recent gains Tuesday, with major bourses on track to end the month sharply higher.

European stocks and Wall Street futures drifted in early trade as investors returned from holidays in the U.K. and U.S.

Investors were focused on key events later in the week, including a European Central Bank meeting, an OPEC gathering and the final monthly U.S. jobs report before the Federal Reserve's June meeting.

The Stoxx Europe 600 drifted in early trade and was last down 0.2%. The auto sector led declines after Volkswagen's profits came in below analysts' forecasts.

Still, following five consecutive sessions of gains, the pan-European index was on track to rise 2.3% in May, its best monthly performance since November.

Futures pointed to a flat opening for the S&P 500, on track for its highest monthly closing level since December. Changes in futures do not necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.

The quiet session came even as shares in Asia advanced Tuesday, led by a 3.3% rise in the Shanghai Composite Index. Investors in the region hoped mainland-traded Chinese stocks may soon appear in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, an influential global benchmark which could draw billions of dollars into Chinese equities.

Stocks in Japan added 1% after data showed a continued recovery in Japanese industrial production and Japan's finance minister suggested at a news conference he would abide by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to delay a sales-tax increase.

On Monday, stocks in Europe and Asia inched higher as investors considered the prospect of a U.S. interest rate rise.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday that he would like to digest more data before making a decision on raising rates.

In commodities, gold was down 0.3% at $1,213.60 after snapping an eight-session losing streak on Monday.

Brent crude oil was down 0.9% at $49.89 a barrel after closing at its highest value since November, reflecting gains of over 78% from a low in January.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet later this week in Vienna, but analysts think the gathering is unlikely to result in any formal consensus on production cuts.

In currencies, the dollar was flat against the yen at Yen110.9560. The euro was down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.1125 ahead of key data on eurozone inflation due later in the morning.

Dominique Fong contributed to this article

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2016 05:31 ET (09:31 GMT)

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