Forexpros – U.S. stock futures were higher on Monday, as investors eyed the release of a series of economic reports while concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone continued to linger.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.40%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% gain.
Sentiment mildly improved after official data showed that the euro zone posted an external trade surplus of EUR2.8 billion in February, against a deficit of EUR2.8 billion in the same month last year, as exports increased by 11%, while imports rose 7%.
But markets remained jittery after the cost of insuring Spanish sovereign debt against default rose to a fresh record earlier, pushing the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds back above the 6% level, amid concerns that the government will be unable to meet deficit reduction targets.
Investors were also eyeing an auction of two and 10-year Spanish governments bonds later in the week, which was being seen as a key test of market appetite for the country’s debt.
Financial stocks were expected to be active after JP Morgan posted results last week that topped expectations but showed year-on-year falls in net income and revenue.
In addition, Bank of New York Mellon was due in the U.S. Tax Court on Monday, in the first of several lawsuits regarding a tax benefit it received from a USD1.5 billion loan from U.K. bank Barclays.
Markets were also awaiting Citigroup’s release of first quarter earnings, due later in the day. The bank’s shares were down 0.60% in pre-market trade.
Also in focus, Carlyle Group, the second-biggest U.S. private-equity firm, said it is seeking to raise as much as USD762.5 million in its initial public offering, a sale that may value the firm at up to USD7.6 billion.
Elsewhere, the tech sector was also likely to move as Google and Oracle were due in court in San Francisco on Monday regarding their high-profile dispute over Smartphone technology rights. Settlement talks between Google CEO Larry Page and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison have so far failed.
Google shares eased up 0.03% in pre-market trade.
Other stocks in focus included toy manufacturer Mattel, newspaper publisher Gannett, M&T Bank and brokerage Charles Schwab, all due to report earnings before the bell on Monday.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 surged 0.99%, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.80%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.68%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.75%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on retail sales and a report on manufacturing activity in New York, as well as official data on net long-term securities transactions and business inventories.
Forexpros
