1. U.S. data in focus
Investors looked ahead to the release of key data later in the session for further indications over the timing of a U.S. rate increase and the strength of the economy.
The U.S. is to release data on personal spending and income figures at 8:30AM ET.
At 10:00AM, the Institute of Supply Management is to release data on manufacturing activity for July. At the same, the U.S. is to publish a report on June construction spending.
2. Wall Street earnings keep rolling in
Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) and Clorox (NYSE:CLX) are due to report quarterly earnings ahead of Monday's opening bell, while American International Group (NYSE:AIG) and Allstate (NYSE:ALL) are due after the bell.
3. Greek stock market plunges 23% after a 5-week closure
Greek stocks plunged more than 20% at the open on Monday, as trading resumed after a five-week closure.
The country's top four lenders, National Bank of Greece (AT:NBGr), Alpha Bank (AT:ACBr), Bank of Piraeus (AT:BOPr) and Eurobank (AT:EURBr) were all down by about 30%.
Trading on the Athens bourse was suspended at the height of the Greek debt crisis in late-June as part of capital controls imposed to stem outflows that threatened to collapse the country's banking system.
4. Commodity sell-off deepens
Copper prices tumbled to the lowest level since June 2009 on Monday, gold struggled near a five-and-a-half year low and oil prices sank to multi-month lows, as worries over slowing demand from China, a glut of supply and a stronger U.S. dollar continued to batter commodities markets.
5. Worries over China's economy linger
A pair of disappointing manufacturing reports underlined concerns over the health of China's manufacturing sector.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for July released on Monday fell to 47.8 from a preliminary reading of 48.2. It was the lowest reading since July 2013.
Meanwhile, the official China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index published on Saturday dipped to 50.0 last month from 50.2 in June, as new orders declined.
The Shanghai Composite took investors on another volatile ride on Monday, with shares dropping 1.1%. The index lost almost 15% in July despite the introduction of government-measures aimed at supporting the market.