(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stock futures were slightly higher in early trading Monday with the Dow and the S&P 500 coming off their biggest monthly losses since January last year.
The new week begins with a number of economic reports including personal income and consumer spending. Personal income rose 0.3% in December better than the 0.2% increase expected while consumer spending dropped 0.3% as expected registering its biggest drop since 2009.
At 10:00am ET the Institute for Supply Management's January index is due out and is expcted to come in at 54.3 down from 55.1 in December. At the same time the government will release its construction spending report for December which is expected to jump 0.8%.
Chinese stocks led declines across Asia today after the HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers index in January remained below the 50 level which separates contraction from expansion. The data come a day after the Chinese government's official PMI which dipped to 49.8 in January the first reading below 50 in nearly two and a half years. European markets lost steam on Monday as data showed manufacturing activity in the region was basically stagnant in January.
In commodities union leaders called strikes on Sunday at nine US refineries accounting for more than 10% of US capacity after a failure to agree on a new national contract covering workers at 63 plants. If the strike escalates it could be detrimental to the oil price as it would put high US production out on the market with nowhere for it to go. WTI crude was choppy in Monday trade last down 6 cents at $48.17 a barrel in New York. Gold futures fell $7 to $1273 an ounce.
In corporate activity () rose premarket after its fourth quarter profit topped estimates despite a 21% year-over-year drop as production declined. After the closing bell Anadarko Petroleum () and Cliffs Natural Resources () are scheduled to report quarterly results.
CRH (NYSE:CRH) is buying assets from building supplies companies Lafarge and Holcim for $7.4 billion with the assets sold in order to win approval for a merger between Lafarge and Holcim announced last year.
Chimerix's (NASDAQ:CMRX) clinical trial in Liberia for a drug to treat Ebola has been halted due to the sharp decline in the number of people infected with the virus.
() said it has agreed to buy German communications chip maker Lantiq. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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