Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open in light trade on Monday, as investors were locking in gains after the previous week's strong rally in U.S. equities, while disappointing industrial production data out of China weighed.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.29% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.31% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% loss.
Stocks strengthened on Friday as recent upbeat U.S. employment data fuelled optimism over an earlier-than-expected end to the Fed’s USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.
Data on Thursday showed that showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 2008 in the week ending May 4.
Earlier this month official data showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast in April, pushing the unemployment rate to a more than four-year low of 7.5%.
Meanwhile, official data showed that industrial production in China rose 9.3% in April, below expectations for a 9.5% increase and following an 8.9% rise the previous month.
The weaker-than-expected data fuelled concerns that China’s economic recovery was stalling.
Energy-linked companies were expected to be active, as Hess Corp chief executive John Hess, son of the company's founder, is being stripped of his duties as chairman, as the oil and gas company scrambles to avoid an embarrassing defeat by an activist investor.
Separately, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s biggest custody bank, was reportedly appealing a ruling allowing Chesapeake Energy to proceed on Monday with redeeming USD1.3 billion in bonds six years early.
Elsewhere, BT Group was likely to be in focus as the U.K. fixed-line company soared over 11% on Friday after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates after adding high-speed Internet service customers.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.29%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.38%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.22%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.2%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.29% slip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.31% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% loss.
Stocks strengthened on Friday as recent upbeat U.S. employment data fuelled optimism over an earlier-than-expected end to the Fed’s USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.
Data on Thursday showed that showed that U.S. initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 2008 in the week ending May 4.
Earlier this month official data showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast in April, pushing the unemployment rate to a more than four-year low of 7.5%.
Meanwhile, official data showed that industrial production in China rose 9.3% in April, below expectations for a 9.5% increase and following an 8.9% rise the previous month.
The weaker-than-expected data fuelled concerns that China’s economic recovery was stalling.
Energy-linked companies were expected to be active, as Hess Corp chief executive John Hess, son of the company's founder, is being stripped of his duties as chairman, as the oil and gas company scrambles to avoid an embarrassing defeat by an activist investor.
Separately, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world’s biggest custody bank, was reportedly appealing a ruling allowing Chesapeake Energy to proceed on Monday with redeeming USD1.3 billion in bonds six years early.
Elsewhere, BT Group was likely to be in focus as the U.K. fixed-line company soared over 11% on Friday after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates after adding high-speed Internet service customers.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.29%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.38%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.22%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.42%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.2%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales.