Futures Suggest A Slow Start Following A Mixed Week; Quarterly Earnings From Retailers And Economic Data Should Help Investors Set Course This Week

On Monday morning, futures indicate a mixed and subdued start to the markets as yet another week begins with investors focusing on domestic factors such as earnings from retailers and economic data on jobs, sentiment and inventories, while keeping an eye on the Ukraine crisis unfolding in the background.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.09 percent and futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.05 percent while those on the Nasdaq were up 0.05 percent. On Friday, the Dow gained 0.19 percent and the S&P 500 edged up 0.05 percent while the Nasdaq fell 0.37 percent. Over the past week, the Dow gained 1.63 percent and the S&P 500 rose 1.82 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.92 percent.

On the earnings front, Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN), Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) and FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) are among those scheduled to announce quarterly earnings after market hours.

In Europe, markets were mostly in positive territory with the Stoxx Europe 600 index trading up 0.22 percent and the FTSE 100 was up 0.41 percent. However, Germany’s DAX-30 was down 0.05 percent while France's CAC-40 was up 0.88 percent.

In Asia, markets were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei-225 falling 1.01 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ending down 0.93 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 1.75 percent while the Shanghai Composite tumbled 2.86 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.03 percent while India’s BSE Sensex was nearly flat, inching up 0.07 percent.