Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were higher on Monday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. pending home sales data while concerns over debt contagion in the euro zone continued to weigh on investor confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.34%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.32% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.46% gain.
The Ifo Institute said earlier that its index of German business confidence inched up to 109.8, from a reading of 109.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 109.7 this month.
But sentiment remained under pressure after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned over the weekend that the threat of contagion from Spain could cause the debt crisis in the euro zone to flare up again.
On Friday, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is due to announce EUR40 billion in budget cuts, as he attempts to slash the country’s deficit in the face of a looming recession.
Financial stocks were expected to be active as European lenders moved broadly lower amid renewed euro zone debt fears.
In pre-market trade, Bank of America shares jumped 1.02% however after unveiling a pilot program with 1000 customers that will allow them pardon of their outstanding mortgage debt in exchange of transferring their homes’ title to the bank.
In the tech sector, Apple was also slated to be in focus after BATS Global Markets on Sunday issued a statement apologizing for a system failure that caused its own shares to erroneously trade for less than a penny on Friday and resulted in Apple shares being temporarily halted.
Elsewhere, Lions Gate Entertainment surged 10.19% in pre-market trade after the company collected USD155 million in gross receipts for “The Hunger Games,” according to Hollywood.com Box-Office.
Analysts had predicted earnings of USD125 million to USD135 million for the film.
Pharmaceuticals were also expected to move as Barron’s said that Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ stock may stall unless it expands beyond its dependence on the Soliris treatment for rare blood disorders.
Other stocks in focus included property services firm Apollo Group, due to release its first-quarter earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.7%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.58%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.39%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.1%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.34%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.32% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.46% gain.
The Ifo Institute said earlier that its index of German business confidence inched up to 109.8, from a reading of 109.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to ease up to 109.7 this month.
But sentiment remained under pressure after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned over the weekend that the threat of contagion from Spain could cause the debt crisis in the euro zone to flare up again.
On Friday, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is due to announce EUR40 billion in budget cuts, as he attempts to slash the country’s deficit in the face of a looming recession.
Financial stocks were expected to be active as European lenders moved broadly lower amid renewed euro zone debt fears.
In pre-market trade, Bank of America shares jumped 1.02% however after unveiling a pilot program with 1000 customers that will allow them pardon of their outstanding mortgage debt in exchange of transferring their homes’ title to the bank.
In the tech sector, Apple was also slated to be in focus after BATS Global Markets on Sunday issued a statement apologizing for a system failure that caused its own shares to erroneously trade for less than a penny on Friday and resulted in Apple shares being temporarily halted.
Elsewhere, Lions Gate Entertainment surged 10.19% in pre-market trade after the company collected USD155 million in gross receipts for “The Hunger Games,” according to Hollywood.com Box-Office.
Analysts had predicted earnings of USD125 million to USD135 million for the film.
Pharmaceuticals were also expected to move as Barron’s said that Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ stock may stall unless it expands beyond its dependence on the Soliris treatment for rare blood disorders.
Other stocks in focus included property services firm Apollo Group, due to release its first-quarter earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.08%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.7%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.58%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.39%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index eased up 0.1%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on pending home sales and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.