U.S. futures higher, U.S. fiscal worries linger; Dow Jones up 0.13%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday, although concerns over U.S. fiscal policy and the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone remained.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.23% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.32% increase.

Markets remained jittery amid concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1 unless lawmakers can reach an agreement, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.

On Sunday, Greece’s government approved a budget of spending cuts and tax increases for next year, just days after the parliament narrowly approved a EUR13.5 billion austerity package required to secure the country’s next installment of financial aid.

But investors remained cautious as euro zone finance ministers were to meet in Brussels later in the day to discuss whether to release a new tranche of funding to Greece.

Without the next aid installment, Greece risks default on November 16, when Athens must repay EUR5 billion of debts.

Tech stocks were expected to be active, after Apple and HTC announced on Saturday a global patent settlement and 10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars. Apple shares were up 0.56% in pre-market trade.

The Internet sector was also set to be in focus, as China's Alibaba Group more than doubled its April-June net profit and grew sales by 71% for the period, proving the country's largest e-commerce firm has shrugged off intensifying competition in the sector.

Yahoo, which holds 24% of Alibaba, saw shares jump 1.68% pre-market.

Elsewhere, oil and gas major Exxon Mobil said it faces a USD3.3 billion spike in costs at its LNG project in Papua New Guinea, the latest Asia-Pacific project to be hit by cost overruns as competition is set to grow from new gas supplies coming on tap in North America and Africa.

Other stocks in focus included Starbucks, Google and Amazon, as UK lawmakers were preparing to quiz executives of all three companies on Monday about how they have managed to pay only small amounts of tax in Britain while racking up billions of dollars worth of sales.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.16%, Germany's DAX added 0.17%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.18%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.21%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.93%.

Later Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to travel to Lisbon to hold talks with Portuguese political leaders, amid public opposition to the country’s austerity cuts.