Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open on Monday, as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve and whether or not it will begin to taper its stimulus program before the year end.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% increase.
Stocks came under pressure after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that the central bank could scale back its asset purchases by the end of the year if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.”
Bernanke said the economic recovery was continuing at a moderate pace but reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.
Over the weekend, the Group of 20 nations stressed the need for a “careful” shift away from monetary easing so that market volatility does not negatively impact on the global recovery.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 nations said Saturday that future changes to monetary policy should be “carefully calibrated and clearly communicated" and added that tapering should be "calibrated" to economic conditions.
Tech stocks were expected to be in focus, as Apple's developer site became unavailable for software engineers after a hacker tried to steal personal information.
Separately, Google and Microsoft regained some ground in pre-market trade, adding 0.21% and 0.83% respectively, after the stocks tumbled on Friday. Both tech giants disappointed last week with quarterly earnings and revenue that fell well below market expectations.
In addition, at least eight brokerages slashed their price targets on Google, while seven cut their price targets on Microsoft.
Intuitive Surgical was also likely to remain in the spotlight after the maker of the da Vinci surgical robots slashed its 2013 revenue guidance and added the FDA had issued a warning letter after a facilities inspection.
The company now expects 2013 revenue to be between flat and up 7%, far below previous expectations for a gain of between 16% and 19%.
Other stocks expected to be in focus included McDonald's, Halliburton, Hasbro,Kimberly-Clark, Netflix and Texas Instruments, scheduled to post second quarter results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.08%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.02%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.25%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.47%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% increase.
Stocks came under pressure after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that the central bank could scale back its asset purchases by the end of the year if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.”
Bernanke said the economic recovery was continuing at a moderate pace but reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future.
Over the weekend, the Group of 20 nations stressed the need for a “careful” shift away from monetary easing so that market volatility does not negatively impact on the global recovery.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 nations said Saturday that future changes to monetary policy should be “carefully calibrated and clearly communicated" and added that tapering should be "calibrated" to economic conditions.
Tech stocks were expected to be in focus, as Apple's developer site became unavailable for software engineers after a hacker tried to steal personal information.
Separately, Google and Microsoft regained some ground in pre-market trade, adding 0.21% and 0.83% respectively, after the stocks tumbled on Friday. Both tech giants disappointed last week with quarterly earnings and revenue that fell well below market expectations.
In addition, at least eight brokerages slashed their price targets on Google, while seven cut their price targets on Microsoft.
Intuitive Surgical was also likely to remain in the spotlight after the maker of the da Vinci surgical robots slashed its 2013 revenue guidance and added the FDA had issued a warning letter after a facilities inspection.
The company now expects 2013 revenue to be between flat and up 7%, far below previous expectations for a gain of between 16% and 19%.
Other stocks expected to be in focus included McDonald's, Halliburton, Hasbro,Kimberly-Clark, Netflix and Texas Instruments, scheduled to post second quarter results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.18%, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.08%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.02%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.25%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.47%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.