US Stock Futures Point To Lower Opening Monday

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a lower opening Monday ahead of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce's Report on Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders, and increasing concerns over the euro zone crisis.

Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.76 percent, and Nasdaq 100 futures are down 0.75 percent. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.51 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on the Commerce Dept.'s factory orders report, which will be released later Monday. The report measures the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers each month, and it is expected to show 0.2 percent growth for April. The report will also include a revision of the durable goods orders data released about a week earlier, as well as new data on non-durable goods orders.

Investor sentiment was negative due to rising concerns about the euro zone as pressure increases on the Spanish government to ask the European Central Bank for a proper bailout of its banks.

On Friday, U.S. markets were down as investor confidence was dampened by disappointing economic data. The markets were dragged down as non-farm payrolls showed that the U.S. economy added 69,000 jobs in May, which was much below the expected 150,000 new jobs economists had forecast. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 Index declined 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.8 percent.

All major European indices were in the red Monday as the worrisome condition of Spain's banking sector continued to add to the debt crisis looming over the euro zone. Germany's DAX 30 Index fell by 73.94 points and France's CAC 40 index declined marginally by 3.09 points. London markets are closed Monday.

Asian markets fell Monday amid increasing concerns over the slowdown in economic growth in China as the country's non-manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in May compared to the previous month. Market sentiment was negative as data released Sunday by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing showed that the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 55.2 in May, down from 56.1 in April.