US futures point to small rebound from Friday’s sell-off

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a small rebound on Monday ahead of key monthly retail sales data.

Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.21 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.11 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are up 0.46 percent.

On Friday, stocks fell on fears of monetary tightening in China and Ireland's dubious debt position. U.S. stocks snapped a five week winning streak. For the week, the Dow industrials and S&P 500 lost 2.1 percent while the Nasdaq lost 2.35 percent.

On Monday, investors are eagerly waiting for the U.S. Department of Commerce monthly retail and core retail sales data for October. U.S. retail and food sales rose for the third month in September to $367.7 billion, or 0.6 percent from August, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday differences.

The market consensus is 0.7 percent gain in retail sales and 0.4 percent increase in core retail sales for the month of October.

Other data expected on Monday included NY empire state manufacturing index and monthly business inventories.

The euro declined 0.55 percent to 1.3616 against the dollar and the yen advanced 0.40 percent against the greenback.

Crude oil futures advanced 0.64 percent to $85.42/barrel and gold futures rose by 0.23 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading mixed with FTSE 100 down by 8.49 points, DAX30 up by 4.71 points and CAC 40 down by 3.99 points.

However, stocks in Asia closed higher on Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up by 1.1 percent to 9,827.51 points at the close of trading. Japan's economy grew more than expected at 0.9 percent in the July-to-September quarter.