Dow Jones futures dipped 0.1 percent, S&P 500 futures were down 0.01 percent while Nasdaq futures traded 0.02 percent higher on Monday morning at 4:45 a.m. EDT, pointing to a flat opening for Wall Street's main equity indexes.

With corporate earnings and economic data calendars virtually void of potentially market-moving events, the focus will be on the sentencing of confessed swindler Bernard Madoff.

At a court hearing due to begin at 10 a.m. EDT, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin is expected by legal observers to sentence Madoff, 71, to an effective life term in prison.

Two S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report quarterly results: education provider Apollo Group and tax preparer H&R Block Inc .

The main focus later this week will be the U.S. June jobs report due on Thursday instead of the usual Friday when U.S. markets will be closed in the run-up to Independence Day.

In Europe, the benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was up 0.7 percent by 4:45 a.m. EDT, led by oil and gas <.SXEP> as well as defensive pharma <.SXDP> and telecom <.SXKP>.

(Reporting by Peter Starck; Editing by David Cowell)

Investment