US Stock Futures Suggest Lower Open; Citigroup Earnings, Retail Sales Data In Focus

Following last week's fall, which saw the Nasdaq lose 3.1 percent while the S&P 500 fell 2.6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 2.4 percent, investors will look to quarterly earnings this week from banking majors, retailers and technology giants, and economic data for guidance.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.22 percent while futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.21 percent and those on the Nasdaq were down 0.33 percent. On Friday, the Dow fell 0.89 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 0.95 percent while the Nasdaq lost 1.34 percent.

Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C) quarterly earnings announcement, which is due before markets open, along with retail sales data for March, which are scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. should influence trading during the day.

In Europe, markets were down with the Stoxx Europe 600 index falling 0.8 percent while the FTSE 100 was down 0.73 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 fell 0.8 percent while France's CAC-40 was down 0.76 percent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei-225 fell 0.36 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 plunged 1.28 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.15 percent and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.05 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was nearly flat, down 0.02 percent, while India's BSE Sensex was closed for a local holiday.