US Stock Futures Suggest Positive Open At The Start Of A Quiet Week; Data On Consumption, Business Investment Will Be In Focus

In the last full working week of 2013, which is marked by a holiday in the middle, markets look determined to end the year with a rally.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or DJIA, were up 0.34 percent and futures on the S&P 500 were up 0.46 percent while those on the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.67 percent.

"Equities often tend to do quite well in the final few trading sessions of the year as investors engage in short-covering to square their books," a note from Capital Economics said.

Data on personal income for November is due on Monday at 8:30 a.m. EST and Capital Economics expects a 0.5 percent month-on-month gain in November. Consumer sentiment data for December is due at 9:55 a.m.

In Europe, markets were trading up for the fourth straight day, after the International Monetary Fund on Saturday raised growth forecasts for the U.S. economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was trading up 0.23 percent while the FTSE 100 was up 0.38 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 was up 0.47 percent while France's CAC-40 was up 0.04 percent.

In Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.51 percent, the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.24 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.48 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI Composite index was up 0.68 percent while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1 percent. Markets in Japan were closed for the Emperor’s birthday, which is a national holiday.