US Stock Futures Signal Flat Open Amid Investor Caution

The U.S. stock index futures point to a flat open Monday as investors maintained caution ahead of the quarterly earnings reports to be announced this week by major corporates.

The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.10 percent, the futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were up 0.07 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index were down 0.03 percent.

Investors will continue to focus on earnings reports with the U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) expected to announce their quarterly results this week.

On Friday, the U.S. stocks rose marginally with investors remaining watchful focusing on the earnings report from Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and a new set of economic indicators. Wells Fargo, the San Francisco-based bank, reported that its net income in the fourth quarter rose to $4.86 billion or $0.91 per share up from $3.89 billion or $0.73 per share in the same period the earlier year.

Meanwhile, according to the data released Friday by the Department of Labor, the import price index, which measures the change in the price of imported goods and services purchased domestically, fell 0.1 percent in December from a 0.9 percent decrease in November. Also, according to the data released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, trade deficit, which measures the difference in value between the imported and exported goods and services over the reported period, fell to $48.7 billion in November from $42.2 billion in October.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13 percent, the S&P 500 Index was flat and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.12 percent.

Asian stocks rose Monday as investor confidence was lifted with optimism that policymakers in Japan will further loosen the monetary policy to revive the economy. The dollar touched 89.67 yen Monday -- a level not crossed since June 2010 -- as market participants returned to the mood of risk aversion.

Meanwhile, according to data released Monday by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India’s wholesale price index, which measures the change in the price of goods sold by wholesalers, rose to 7.18 percent in December down from 7.24 percent in November.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Composite rose 131.13 points, India’s Sensex gained 173.61 points and South Korea’s Kospi was up 10.37 points.

European stocks rose Monday amid decreasing concern among investors about the looming debt crisis in the euro zone. London's FTSE 100 was up 10.05 points, Germany's DAX 30 rose 22.51 points and France's CAC 40 gained 7.49 points.