US Stock Futures Point To Higher Open Ahead Of Consumer Credit Data While Europe Powers On And Asian Stock Rally Stumbles

U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open on Monday ahead of the publication of the U.S. Federal Reserve's consumer credit report even as Europe powered ahead, and a recent rally in Asian stocks was cut short by concerns about the Chinese government's reluctance to provide stimulus in the face of a slowdown.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.5 percent, while futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were up 0.57 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index were up 0.67 percent.

The Federal Reserve's consumer credit report for May will be released at 3 p.m. EDT and a median forecast from a Bloomberg survey pegged the rise in consumer credit to $13 billion in May against an increase of $11.1 billion reported in April.

European markets traded significantly higher on Monday morning as investors await a decision from the euro zone's finance ministers, on the timing to award the next tranche of Greece's bailout package, at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Investors also will be keeping an eye on industrial production data out of Germany.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.26 percent, London’s FTSE 100 was up 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX-30 was up 2.16 percent and France's CAC-40 was trading up 1.8 percent.

In Asia, most markets traded lower as better-than-expected jobs data from the U.S. led to renewed fears that the Federal Reserve would soon wind down its economic stimulus program, and following losses in Chinese stocks, which tumbled Monday over fears that Beijing would not ease policies despite slowing growth.

In recent weeks, major rating agencies including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC), Barclays Plc (NYSE:BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) and Citigroup Inc. ( NYSE:C) have cut China’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, forecast for 2013 to 7.4 percent from 7.6 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei ended down 1.40 percent, having earlier climbed 1.3 percent to a six-week high, after government data released on Monday showed that the country's current-account surplus missed forecasts. The surplus shrank to 540.7bn yen ($5.36 billion) from April's 750 billion yen, after exports grew 9.1 percent from a year ago, and imports rose by 9.6 percent.

In addition, the Economy Watchers Current Index, which measures the current mood of businesses that directly serve consumers, such as barbers, taxi drivers, and waiters, registered 53 points in June, down from 55.7 recorded a month ago. The index also missed economists’ forecast of 55.6 for the month.

China's Shanghai Composite index plunged 2.44 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.31 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day down 0.67 percent while South Korea’s KOSPI Composite index declined 0.90 percent. India’s BSE Sensex ended the day down 0.85 percent while the Indian rupee plumbed new depths to hit a new record low of 61.21 against the dollar.