BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Pending Home Sales, International Trade in Goods for November, and manufacturing activity may attract investors' attention on Monday. The market is keenly watching the geopolitical developments that might have an influence. Asian shares finished mostly lower, while European shares are trading lower. Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately higher.
As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were gaining 18.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were adding 2.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 5.75 points.
The U.S. major averages closed mixed on Friday. The Dow and the S&P 500 crept up to new record closing highs, the Nasdaq edged down 15.77 points or 0.2 percent to 9,006.62. The Dow was up 23.87 points or 0.1 percent to 28,645.26 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.11 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,240.02.
On the economic front, International Trade in Goods for November will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a trade gap of $69.5 billion, while the gap was $66.5 billion in the prior month.
The retail inventories for November will be released at 8.30 am ET. In the prior month, the inventories were up 0.3 percent.
The Wholesale Inventories for November will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent, unchanged from the prior month.
National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index for November is scheduled at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 1.1 percent, while it was down 1.7 percent in October. ok
Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey for December will be released at 10.30 am ET. The consensus for general activity index is up 1.0, while it was down 1.3 in the prior month.
52-week Treasury Bill auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday.
Chinese stocks rallied. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 34.99 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,040.02, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 0.33 percent at 28,319.39.
Japanese stocks fell sharply. The benchmark Nikkei dropped 181.10 points, or 0.76 percent, to 23,656.62 but ended 2019 with a gain of 18 percent on optimism about U.S.-China trade deal. The broader Topix index closed 0.68 percent lower at 1,721.36. Japanese financial markets will be closed from Tuesday through Friday.
Australian markets edged lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 16.80 points, or 0.25 percent, to 6,804.90 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 14.70 points, or 0.21 percent, at 6,921.60.
European shares are trading lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is falling 14.69 points or 0.25 percent. The German DAX is losing 70.26 points or 0.53 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 28.11 points or 0.37 percent. The Swiss Market Index is declining 46.87 points or 0.44 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.36 percent.
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