US Stock Futures Suggest Weak Opening; Earnings, FOMC Minutes And Economic Data Should Provide Direction This Week

Following Friday's sizable correction, which nearly wiped out weekly gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, and put the Nasdaq index in the red, investors could pause Monday to take stock, and in anticipation of a host of factors, such as earnings announcements from Wall Street majors, economic data and minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's, or FOMC, last meeting.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.19 percent while futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.24 percent and those on the Nasdaq were down 0.54 percent. On Friday, the Dow ended the session weaker by 0.96 percent and the S&P 500 dropped 1.25 percent while the Nasdaq plunged 2.6 percent.

"Wall Street expected a huge bounce, but they didn't see it," Kristina Hooper, an investment strategist at Alliance Global Investors, told CNNMoney, about Friday's employment report, adding that the jobs data was "not too positive that the Fed would alter its stance."

Friday's report showed the economy added only 192,000 jobs in March compared to the projected 206,000 even as the previous number was revised up to 197,000 from 175,000. And, the unemployment rate remained at 6.7 percent, instead of slipping to 6.6 percent as expected.

This week, investors will look to quarterly announcements from companies as earnings season kicks in. On the economy and data front, minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, meeting are scheduled to be released on Wednesday while jobless claims data are expected Thursday, and numbers on production and consumer sentiment are scheduled for Friday.

In Europe too, markets were significantly weaker with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 0.69 percent while the FTSE 100 was down 0.42 percent. Germany’s DAX-30 fell 1.03 percent while France's CAC-40 dropped 0.56 percent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei-225 fell 1.69 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.17 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.59 percent while the Shanghai Composite was closed for a local holiday. South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.08 percent and India’s BSE Sensex was trading down 0.34 percent.